Love Thy Neighbor
by Evangeline Christabella
Summary: *Disturbia* Kale and Lina are just depressed teenagers with nothing to do. He's on house arrest, she's grounded, and they're both bored. But once they start spying on their neighbors, things get interesting. Could the man next door be a serial killer?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Can he see us?" Kale asked his dad as he threw his fishing rod forward into the water so that it fell in front of a fish that was swimming downstream.

"No, he can't see us." The fish jumped out of the water and grabbed Kale's hook, and as his dad shouted intructions he did his best to follow them.

"See, you're talking to me, you're messing me up."  
"It's ok, just let him take it."

But the fish let go of the hook, and Kale slammed his fishing rod down in frustration.

"You've gotta be kidding me..."

"It's ok." His dad assured Kale, his tone urging him to remain patient," It's ok. You'll get him next time."

"If I can't catch a fish then I don't know what I'm doing out here." Kale said, as he took the bottle of Coke his dad was outstretching to him.

"Relax, you'll get him next time. You know... I really appreciate you bailing on your friends to spend some time with you old man."

Kale smiled, in slight disbelief that the conversation had changed so fast," It's not like you forced me to be here, Pop."

"Still, I appreciate it."

"I appreciate it." Kale replied as he they clinked their glass bottles together.

"It beats working, right?"

"What?" Kale asked, taking his attention off the fish that was swimming past his boot.

"I said,' It beats working.'"  
Kale laughed and replied," You're a writer. You work from home. You don't have it that tough."  
His dad chuckled and then cleared his throat almost nervously," Is there anything, uh... anything you wanna talk about?"

Kale grinned in amusement," Is this that moment?"

"What?"  
"The moment where I tell you..."

"Never mind..." His dad replied, trying to change the subjects before things got awkward.

"No, I'm in, I'm in."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'm in. You have a keen eye for this." He paused, trying to think of the most dramatic thing to talk about," You gonna tell Mom?" That would make it sound convincing; if he was afraid of his mother finding out.

"No." His dad replied honestly.

"Ok, I'm having a kid."

His dad laughed once, but Kale continued before he could respond.

"Yeah, your little boy's growing up. I got a girl pregnant, now I have to go visit her. She lives in Reno, so I don't know how I'm gonna get there, but I bet I'll have to take Mom's car. Her name's Shirley, she's real great."

"Good." His dad replied, trying not to laugh as he played along," She cute?"

"Of course!" Kale responded as though this should be obvious."  
"Good. That's all that matters." He laughed and said under his breath but so Kale could hear him," Smart ass." They both laughed and picked up their fishing rods," Let's fish."

Julie heard the door open and close, and she smiled when she heard her sixteen year old daughter's voice.

"Mother!" She sang loudly as she walked into the kitchen, toting about seven bags from all the different stores in the local mall.

"Hey baby." Julie greeted her, turning around just to look at her briefly, and then turning back to the steaming pot on the stove.

Lina jumped up on the counter beside Julie and asked in an obnoxious voice," Whatcha makin'?"

Julie laughed and replied," Spaghetti."

"Sweet." She smiled gigantically and Julie knew one of her long stories was coming," Mom, you should have seen the mall today. It is ridiculous. There are million sales going on, and I just couldn't help myself. So my entire hundred dollars that I left out of my paycheck has been spent on clothes, clothes, clothes."

"Which I have to wash now..." Julie replied rolling her eyes jokingly.

"Mother... shut up and be happy for me! Everything I got is so adorable, you'll love it."

"Will I?" Julie asked with faux strictness," What did you buy, dare I ask?"

"I bought all clothes. I'll show you them later."

"I know you bought clothes, honey. What kind of clothes did you buy? Will I aprprove?"

"No." Lina replied surely and Julie hit her in the leg lightly as she laughed.

"How did I know? Any shoes, which was your main intention for going to the mall in the first place?"

"Yeah! Two pairs. And I know you'll borrow them because they are so adorable."  
"How did you get all of this with just a hundred dollars?" Julie asked as she poured the spaghetti into the boiling, steaming water on the stove.

"Mom, major sales!! At Payless, there was a sale, buy one, get one half off! So I did! It was fantabulous!"

"I'll bet. Did you get that awesome 'Oh my God, I just saved money feeling?'" It was a feeling that both Lina and Julie often got when they went shopping and didn't spend as much as they thought they would.

"Yeah." Lina sighed dreamily.

Julie laughed and looked into her daughter's beautiful blue eyes that mirrored her own. It was strange; Kale looked like his father and Lina looked like her. Kale was a year and a half older than Lina but unlike most siblings, who fought constantly, Kale and Lina were best friends. Julie stroked Lina's face and Lina smiled.

"What?" She asked.

"Nothing." Julie replied, also smiling," I just love you."

"I love you too, Mommy." Lina replied as she got off the counter and laid her head on Julie's shoulder.

The phone rang and Lina gasped and ran for it, but Julie was closer so she answered it.

"Hello?" Julie said.

"Mom! It might be Tony!" Lina whined, stomping her foot the way a three year old does when they're denied a toy.

"Oh God, is she whining over that dooshbag she's dating?" Kale asked his mom as he and his dad laughed; they both hated Lina's boyfriend Tony, but she was crazy about him. Julie wasn't too fond of him either but Lina was a sixteen year old girl who didn't want to listen to anyone except herself.

"Of course she is." Julie replied," But anyway... how was fishing."

"Mom, you wouldn't believe it. We caught so many freakin' fish... Dad and I are like fishing... masters."

"Oh really? You guys actually caught a fish?" Julie asked, looking at Lina as they both dropped their jaws in jocular shock.

"That's new." Lina giggled as she opened up the US Weekly that was sitting on the counter with the rest of the mail. She opened the chillled Pepsi she had taken from the fridge, and started reading.

"Oh, ye of little faith..." Kale said, shaking his head as he brought the car to a halt to let a car come out in front of him," I will have you know, Mother dearest, that we drained the entire lake."

Julie laughed again and replied," You're kidding."

"No, I'm not kidding. Oh, look at this guy." Kale said in disgust as a huge black SUV swerved in front of him," Jackass!"  
"Hey!" Julie exclaimed, half jokingly, half seriously.

"Sorry. But seriously, every fish in that lake is now in the trunk right now."

"Yeah, are you sure you two aren't stopping off and buying fish like you did the last time?"

Lina and Julie both looked at each other and nodded, knowing that they probably had.

Kale chuckled, and Daniel looked at him.

"What'd she say?" Daniel asked, as he put his seatbelt on. They were about to pass a State Trooper, and he knew the dumb road slogan," Click it or ticket."

"She asked if we were stopping off and buying the fish like last time." They both laughed again, and Kale said," No, we know you're too savvy for that, Mom. Oh, Dad wants to talk to you."

"Hey baby. You should of seen him today. We've got enough fish for a week." Daniel told her, and to that she laughed.

"How long do you think you'll be?"

"I don't know." Daniel looked at Kale and answered," An hour?" Kale nodded his agreement," What's Lina Bean-a doing?"

"She's sitting here reading her magazine."

"Is she paying attention to anything you're saying?"

"Probably not. She barely knows where she is when she's reading the tabloids."

"I know where I am." Lina replied, laughing," Ew, Britney Spears got fat."

"Let me talk to her for a second." Daniel said.

"Ok." Julie handed the phone to Lina and said," Dad."

"Hey Daddy!" Lina exclaimed excitedly and for the first time ever, Julie saw her divert her attention away from the magazine that kept her so engrossed for the hour it took her to read it, that she could completely sound out everything in the room," When are you and Kale getting home?"

"About an hour. What are you up to, Turtlebug?" He asked her.

"Sitting here reading US Weekly and watching Mom cook. Making sure she doesn't slip us any rat poison."  
"Good girl." Daniel replied, laughing.

"I happen to be fresh out of rat poison. You guys are just gonna have to deal with arsenic for the night." Julie told them as she put spices into the sauce that she was stirring. Daniel and Lina both laughed and Lina replied," We'll deal, Mom."

"Of course you will. Oh! Let me talk to him really quick." Julie said, reaching for the phone.

"Dad, Mom needs to tell you something so I guess I'll see you two when you get here."

"Ok, sweetheart, I love you."

"I love you too, Daddy. Here's Mom." Lina went to hand the phone over but then she gasped," Oh, Dad! Tell Kale... it is on when he gets home."

"For what?" Daniel asked, smiling.

"Soul Calibur."

"Oh, it is on like Donkey Kong! It is SO on, Lina!" She heard Kale exclaim in the background.

She giggled again and said," Ok, here's Mom."

She gave Julie the phone and Julie said," Honey, I forgot to tell you... don't take 95 home. Lots of traffic according to the news."

"Ooh, thanks for the heads up, honey. I love you."

"I love you too." Julie replied and then she heard Daniel shout," Kale!"

Then there were sounds of grinding metal, loud bangs, and then the phone went dead.

Julie was frozen, fear taking over her. She had no idea what had just happened, but her gut instinct told her it was something horrific, and that one of them wasn't coming back alive, but she didn't know who.

"Dan..." She gasped out," Dan..."

"Mom, what happened?" Lina asked, looking up from her magazine, worry clear on her face.

"Oh my God. Oh my God..." Julei broke down into tears and Lina ran to her quickly and caught her before she collapsed to the ground.

"Kale..." Julie sobbed, barely able to make words or even breathe because she was sobbing so hard.

"Mom... Mom..." Lina put both of her hands on Julie's face and tried to get her to focus," Shh... You have to tell me what happened."

"But all Julie could do was sob. Lina continued to hold her shaking sobbing mother and in both of their hearts, they knew the worst possible thing had happened; either Kale or Daniel had died.

The car had flipped when Kale sweved violently to avoid a stopped car. It landed upside down, and he and Daniel had remained conscious. Then another car slammed into the passenger side; Daniel's side.

Kale pushed himself out of his broken window, pain shooting through his body. His leg was snapped, his shoulder was dislocated and his entire face was cut up and bleeding with shards of glass still stuck in the skin. But all he could think about was getting around to the other side of the car, and making sure his dad was ok. He had to be ok. He had to be ok.

"Dad!" Kale called desperately as he made his way around to the passenger side of the car. He gripped the top of the car in an attempt to steady himself and remain on his feet but his legs buckled out from underneath of him, and he collapsed onto the glass-ridden ground right beside the passenger side window. Once he saw his father's mangled, bloody, unrecognizable body, he knew he was gone.

He couldn't move, couldn't think, couldn't breath. All he could do was stare at the lifeless body of his father, his hero, his best friend.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The hospital called an hour and a half later, and Lina had to drive because Jule was in such a state of shock that she wasn't speaking or even crying anymore, so she certainly wasn't capable of driving. Once they got to the hospital, they walked briskly inside, hand in hand.

"We're here to see Kale and Daniel Brecht." Lina told the receptionist in the Intensive Care Unit.

There were no questions asked; they were taken back right away. The doctor came right out of a room, and Lina caught a glimpse of a figure lying on the bed covered in a white sheet. She knew it was her father, and yet she still couldn't cry.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Grey." He shook both of their hands and then turned his attention to Julie," You're Mrs. Brecht?"

"Yes." Julie had found her voice, but it was weak.

"Ma'am, your son is gonna be ok."

"Oh thank you, God..." Julie sighed and tears of relief fell from her eyes as she squeezed Lina's hand. Lina laid her head on Julie's shoulder and kept thinking,' Ok, Kale is fine... now all he has to do is say Dad is fine too, and then this will be all over... Dad has to be ok... then it's over..."

"He has a dislocated shoulder, a broken leg, some stitches in his face and back, and a fractured elbow, but he's going to make a full recovery."

"Is he in any pain?" Julie asked.

"No. We've given him pain medication, and he's resting comfortably."

Julie paused, letting the good news sink in and preparing herself for what she knew was going to be said," And my husband?"

The doctor didn't respond right away, and Lina took her head off Julie's shoulder and looked at the floor, fighting tears. He was either dead or there was irreversible damage. She didn't know what she preferred; her father to be alive, or for him to be in a never-ending coma or have some sort of brain damage where he wouldn't be able to function on his own. She honestly had no idea what was worse.

Finally, when she just couldn't stand the silence anymore, she looked at the doctor and asked," Dr. Grey... my dad is ok, isn't he?"

He finally responded, but it took him a minute. This was so obviously the part of his job that he hated," I'm sorry... there was nothing we could do."

It was like he had hit them with a ton of bricks.

"Dan's..." Julie stopped as she broke down into tears," Dan..."

"I'm so sorry, ma'am. I'm so sorry for your loss."

"Can we see him?" Lina asked, still unable to cry even as Julie cried hysterically into her shoulder.

"We need to see him." Julie took a deep breath and attempted to calm down, but she couldn't.

"Mrs. Brecht, I don't suggest letting your daughter see him." Dr. Grey told her softly thinking that Lina wouldn't be able to hear. But she did hear, but the fact that he was dead wouldn't register in her brain. Her dad was dead but her emotions wouldn't turn on. She just stared blankly at the floor, and tried to figure out why her mind was so blank. The only thing she could think was that she'd never be able to talk to him again, she'd never hear him call her "Turtlebug" again, that he'd never walk her down the aisle at her wedding, he'd never see her grow up. He was gone, and he was never coming back.

And although she knew all of this, all of the things she would never see or hear again from Daniel, and all the things he'd never get to do, Lina Brecht wouldn't let herself cry.

"Honey? Honey?" Finally she heard Julie's voice and she snapped out of her thoughts. She looked at Julie, but then looked away quickly. She couldn't stand to see her mother cry.

"Hmm?" She asked instinctively as she rested her head against Julie's chest. Julie wrapped her arms around her and held her tight. Lina didn't know if she had embraced Julie for her mother's benefit or for her own.

"I need you to go in with Kale for awhile. I'll be in soon, ok?"

"Ok." Lina nodded, and let go of Julie," I love you."

"I love you too, honey." Julie was stroking her face, and it was the only thing that would comfort her," We're umm... we're gonna get through this, Mom..."

It sounded like both a statement and a question, and Lina wasn't sure exactly which the words actually were.

"We will." Julie agreed as tears fell from her eyes," It's gonna be hard, but we will get through this. You're right. Now go with Kale, ok?"

Lina nodded and Julie kissed her cheek, worry clear on her face. Lina turned and qalked with the nurse to Kale's room, feeling her Mom's concered eyes on her until she had turned the corner out of Julie's sight.

"Mrs. Brecht... I don't suggest letting your daughter see him."

"I'm sorry, there was nothing we could do."

"Mrs. Brecht, I don't suggest..."

The doctor's words played over and over again in her head and they seemed to grow louder and louder as visions of that figure covered in the sheet refused to leave her brain. Lina covered her ears and closed her eyes, her head spinning, as her feet continued to move her forward. When she nurse looked back at her, she made it look like she was just pushing her hair behind her ears.

They got to Kale's door, and the nurse squeezed her hand.

"I am so sorry for your loss, honey. It hurts now, but with everyday, it will get easier."

Lina forced a smile and replied in gratitude," Thank you. I hope so." The nurse's words were nice, but it wasn't what she wanted to hear. She wanted to hear that there had been some miracle and that her father was still alive. She didn't want to have to accept that he was gone. She'd never accept it.

She watched the nurse turn and walk down the hallway before opening the door to Kale's hospital room and then going inside.

Kale had his eyes closed; his leg was up in a sling, and encased in a cast, there were stitches covered by white Ace bandages on his face, and his arm was also in a sling. She turned away quickly, not able to take the sight of her brother in so much pain, but then she heard her name spoken soflty.

"Lina..."

She turned back around and tried to smile," Hey Kale."

"What are you doing... all the way over there?" He asked, his voice slightly stronger as he started to wake up from his sedative-induced sleep.

"I don't... I don't know." She replied as she walked forward slowly. She pulled up the doctor's rolling stool that was in the room and sat down beside his bed. She gently grasped his fingers that were sticking out of the end of his cast.

"How are you feeling?" She asked him as she tried to keep her voice calm.

"I need to know what happened..."

"You mean you don't remember?" Lina asked, looking both confused and sympathetic. She wished that she couldn't remember what had happened.

"No... I just remember being in the car with Dad. We were on our way home..."

"That's all you remember?" Lina asked.

"Yeah. How the..." He yawned," How the fuck did I end up in the hospital with a broken leg and two fucked up arms?"

"Well, uh... Mom and I... didn't really get the full story. All we know is that... you and Dad got in an accident."

"Oh my God..." Kale said, looking more terrified than Lina had ever seen him," I remember now... Lina, where's Dad? Where's Dad? Is he ok? He looked so... he looked so dead. Please tell me he's ok..."

Lina knew that it was now her job to tell Kale what had happened.

"Kale..." She gripped his hand a little tighter, and she fought the tears that so desperately wanted to fall," Kale... Dad's... Dad's gone."

Kale's eyes filled with tears, but like Lina, he refused to shed them.

"I..." Kale started, but he stopped, unable to finish.

Before she could stop herself, she had flung her arms around him and she just held him tight, and the tears finally came. She broke down into hysterical sobs, and once she was crying, he began to also.

"Oh my God..." She sobbed hysterically into his shoulder," Why? Why?"

Kale couldn't respond as silent tears fell from his eyes. He held his sister while she cried uncontrollably, and they both just sobbed until they couldn't cry anymore.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

ONE YEAR LATER

Ronnie, Kale's best friend, stood at the front of the class, making a speech in Spanish about what he was planning on doing with his summer vacation.

"Quizas..." He said, and the entire class laughed quietly. Ronnie ate up this attention and realized that he had the class going, and that it would be easy to keep them laughing," Quiz-_ass..."_

Even Lina laughed, despite the fact that she had been scribbling absent-mindedly in her composition book. She had drawn a picture of a mangled car, the person covered in the sheet, and a girl with her face in her hands. She didn't know why she got the urge to draw these things. It was almost like she wasn't doing it. Her hand was moving with a mind of it's own and it was drawing these images. She couldn't stop herself from making these pictures, and she had tried.

Ronnie continued his speech, and said something about gazing at the beauty of female inhabitants of someplace, most likely Hawaii where he was going with his parents that summer. Minnie Tycko, the school bitch, rolled her eyes and muttered," Yeah, keep dreaming, perv."

Lina looked at her, rolled her own eyes and then muttered something of her own," Fucking bitch..."

Minnie looked at her, slightly shocked; she and Lina Brecht, being the two hottest girls in school, had never been friends, but they had never had problems with one another. She shook off Lina's insult, and just went back to writing a note to her friend. She didn't hold anything Lina did against her because her dad had died, but in Minnie's mind, since it had been a year, she should be over it by now.

"Quizas..." Ronnie finished. Ronnie walked back to his seat which was right in front of Lina's, and she looked at him, smiling and laughing slightly. He smiled stupidly, and turned to the teacher once his name was said.

"Si, Senor Guiterez?" Ronnie said, still smiling his obnoxious smile. He so loved to laugh at his own jokes, and he was still laughing at how he had so geniously changed the spanish word," Quizas" to "kiss-ass."

"Quizas yo le dara una F."

Ronnie sat down, his smile fading fast and Lina couldn't help but laugh ever so slightly.

"Shut up, Lina." He said jokingly and she stuck her tongue out obnoxiously at him. He made the strangest, most ridiculous face she had ever seen, and she started to crack up quietly.

"And another thing, if you and Senorita Brecht could keep your antics outside of my classroom, I'd be most appreciative."

"Whatever, Guiterrez." Lina replied, uncaring that she was being rude and disrespectful. It was the last day of school, what would he do to her?

"Senor Brecht?" Mr. Guiterrez said, but Kale was unresponsive. He had his hood up and his head was hung, and both Ronnie and Lina looked back at him. Once everyone else realized that he wasn't responding, they too looked back.

It broke Lina's heart to see her brother so depressed that he couldn't even stay awake during school. He didn't sleep much at night, and she often heard him walking around in his room in the early hours of the morning. She knew he still blamed himself for their dad's death.

"Kale..." Lina whispered," Kale, wake up."

"Get up, man..." Ronnie muttered as he kicked Kale's foot. But Guiterrez had a better method of waking him up. He took an eraser off the chalkboard and threw it so it hit Kale in the head. Kale jolted awake and looked around.

"Senor Brecht... do you think it might be possible for you to remain conscious long enough to tell us what you plan to do with the three wonderous summer months that await us."

Kale didn't respond right away, but he looked to see Lina scribbling in her book, the way she always did, and he knew that she was barely aware of the situation. And he was right. Once the eraser had been thrown, Lina had turned back to her book and continued to draw more morbid pictures that Ronnie, who was seated in front of her, knew not to look at.

"Do you want me to stand up?" He asked, sounding tired and uncaring.

"Si." Gutierrez replied.

"Este invierno..."

The class laughed, and Lina shot all of them dirty looks.

"Verano..." She whispered to Kale.

"Verondo..." Kale said, so obviously just wanting to sit down and get out of there.

"Este verono..."

"Kale?"

"Este... Que?" He asked.

"Que usted va a hacer?"

"I don't... I don't know what that means. I didn't get that far in the book." Kale replied, knowing that this wasn't an excuse and that he was about to get chewed out by the teacher.

"Did you do the homework or not?"

"I guess not." Kale replied, his eyes on the drawings in Lina's book that she was back to drawing. He saw Guiterrez moving towards him out of the corner of his eye and when he looked in Guiterrez's direction, he saw that he was right in his face.

"You guess not?" Guiterrez sighed, and if they had been out of that school he would have punched Kale's face in for being so uncaring, disrespectful, and for being such a smartass," I don't know who you think you are... or who you think you're dealing with. But I want you to give me one good reason... why I shouldn't fail you."

Kale didn't say anything, so Guiterrez moved closer to him and whispered, just low enough so Kale and the people around him could hear," What would your father think?"

Lina turned back and looked at him, rage clear on her face, but before she could say anything, Kale had slammed his fist into Guiterrez's face, sending him crashing to the floor. Kale lunged for him, but both Lina and Ronnie jumped up and grabbed him. Lina got his arms, while Ronnie got him around the middle.

"Kale, don't!" Lina screamed as Kale tried to break out of their grasp," Kale! Shit!"

Someone had run and gotten an assistant principal, and Kale was pulled out of the room, his rage not subsiding until he was three hallways away from the spanish room.

Lina looked down at Guiterrez, a look of pity and fury on her face. What he had said had been unexcusable, but Kale shouldn't have punched him. God only knew what would happen to him now. She knew her brother's short fuse would ignite eventually, but she had always prayed it would just be him putting his fist through a wall, not a teacher's face. Another assistant principal beckoned for her to follow, so she packed up her things and followed him to the office.

Kale and Lina sat in silence in the principal's office, waiting for Julie to arrive. The school had had to call her at work, and she had had to leave early, and the hours she would be missing showing houses would be money lost from her paycheck.

They heard her high heels clunking down the hallway and although several other teachers wore high heels, they knew instinctively that this person was their mother. The door opened, and only Lina turned around.

"Hi Mom." She greeted her.

"Lina, put a shirt on over that, for God's sake." Julie snapped, and Lina rolled her eyes and pulled a pink sweatshirt on over her skimpy black tanktop.

"Hello Rocky." Julie greeted Kale loudly, snapping him out of his daze.

"What's up?"

"Don't 'what's up' me! Do you have any idea what you have done, Kale?!"

"Mom, just calm down..." Lina started.

"You stay out of this, Lina! It doesn't concern you!"

"Mom, don't yell at her! This isn't her fault!"  
The principal came in to find them all arguing, and he cleared his throat which brought silence in the room.

"Mrs. Brecht, maybe you should have a seat."

Julie sat on the other side of Kale, and the principal took a seat behind his desk.

"Is he pressing charges?"

"Yes." Principal Redding replied with no hesitation.

"Oh, that's just great." Julie said, looking disgusted and infuriated as she looked at Kale," That's just... wonderful! Kale, what has gotten into you?!" Kale didn't respond, so Julie continued her rant," Why would you punch a teacher?! Now God only knows what's gonna happen to you!"

"Mrs. Brecht... have your children seen a psychiatrist after their father's death?" Principal Redding asked.

Julie looked at him, slightly offended," Of course they have. They saw him for a few weeks... then they both stopped going."

"Why didn't you insist that they go?"

"What is this, Dr. Phil?" Lina asked, looking infuriated," Mom, let's just go. He already told us when his hearing is. Let's just leave."

"Were you aware of your son's anger issues, Mrs. Brecht?"

"My son doesn't have anger issues!" Julie responded, trying to keep her voice calm," My children just lost their father! I realize that it's been a year, but that's not something that just goes away! Kale lost control today, I realize that. But he is depressed and on edge, and something that teacher said or did made him snap."

"I'll tell you what the teacher said, and Ronnie heard it too, so it's not like I'm making it up. He said,' What would your father think?' And let me tell you, I would have knocked his ass out too."

"That man has no right to press charges when he provoked my son like that." Julie informed the principal," You don't bring up a dead parent like that."

"Mr. Guiterrez was not trying to offend anyone. He was just asking a simple question, and Kale punched him. His hearing is tomorrow, nine AM."

"Thank you." Julie replied sarcastically. They stood up and walked out of the office, and down the hallway, Julie walking a few feet in front of them. She lowered her sunglasses before they were even close to the door, and Lina and Kale both knew that she was about to cry.

On the way home, there was an awkward silence in the car and tension that couldn't have been cut with a chainsaw. They drove for ten minutes like this, and it wasn't until they were five minutes from home that Julie spoke.

"Lina..." She said softly as she reached over and took Lina's hand. Lina didn't turn her attention away from the window, but she did squeeze Julie's hand," I'm sorry I yelled at you, honey."

Lina didn't say anything at first, but then she replied," It's ok."

"I just... I was taken off guard by this. And I had to leave work early, and now I'm not gonna get paid for the hours I missed..."

"Mom, I told you I would get a job, and help you out."  
"That's too much of a responsibility, Lina." Julie told her, as she looked at her. Lina couldn't see her eyes behind the dark lenses of her sunglasses," I'm working two jobs, and it gets us by, but it only _just _gets us by. I just want you and Rocky Balboa back there..." They all laughed slightly, despite the situation," ...to be normal teenagers. Kale, I'm not mad at you."

"It's ok to be mad at me, Mom." Kale told her," I screwed up, and I realize that. I don't know if I would take it back or not, but I am sorry."

"I know you are. I just... did you have to punch him?" Julie asked, looking back at him in the rearview mirror.

Kale didn't respond right away but then he finally said," Yeah. I had to punch him."

The next morning, around eight thirty, Kale, Lina, and Julie were getting ready for Kale's hearing. Lina's heart was pounding as she heard Kale moving around in his room. What would she do if they sent Kale to Juvy? There was no way she and her mom could make it on their own!

Once she was dressed, all in black as usual, she left her room and walked down the stairs. When she got into the kitchen, she saw that Julie was drinking coffee in the kitchen, and looking around for something.

"What are you looking for?" Lina asked as she walked over to the coffeepot and poured herself a cup. She drank it black, and started looking around for whatever it was Julie was looking for.

"I'm looking for my keys."

"Uh... Mom? They're in your pocket." Lina told her, laughing slightly.

Julie stopped looking, and felt her pocket. She sighed and ran her fingers through her long, wavy dark brown hair.

"God, I'm a mess this morning."  
"You're really stressing out over this, aren't you?"

Julie sighed and replied," Yeah. God, what are we gonna do if they send him to Juvy? I can't... I can't see that happen, Lina."

Lina hugged her tight and said," I know."

Kale watched from the hallway, and felt a slight pang of regret. He knew that if they put him away in juvenile hall, he'd be leaving his mom and his sister all alone. Sure, if he were in juvy there would be one less mouth for Julie to feed, and she might actually have some money to spend, but he knew that they would miss him too much to appreciate either.

Did he regret slugging his asshole Spanish teacher completely though? Not a chance.

Lina and Julie sat on Kale's left, while his lawyer sat on his right. He had plead guilty, which was the only thing he could do, because there were a room full of witnesses that would testify against him if he were to plead innocent. Not to mention, the shiner he had given Guiterrez was a dead giveaway. Kale and Gutierrez glared at each other across the courtroom, while the judge reviewed his notes. Finally, he looked up, and Kale knew that the decision was made. In a few seconds, he would know his fate.

"Mr. Brecht... you are two months shy of eighteen, that means the assault two charge you've pled guilty to carries a max of one year in juvy. With these priors, you're up to three."

Lina ran her fingers through her hair, and looked at Julie, who was wiping a tear from her eye. It was over, and the verdict was what it was. There was no changing anything now.

"I'm sorry." Kale mouthed to Julie. She looked away, unable to look at him or she'd break down into tears right there in the courtroom.

"However..."

They all looked up, praying that there was going to be some sort of miracle and the judge was going to reconsider his harsh decision.

"Losing a parent isn't easy. Which is why I am sentencing you to three months house arrest."

"Yes!" Lina exclaimed, but then she covered her mouth, when the entire courtroom looked at her. Kale laughed to himself but quickly stopped when he saw the judge look at him.

"Mr. Brecht, I just cut you a break. Don't test me."

"God, Kale, you are so effing lucky!" Lina exclaimed as she turned onto the main road on the way back to the house," I mean, seriously, he had that long pause in there, and I thought it was done!"

"Me too." Kale replied, laughing slightly in relief.

"Lina, pay attention to the road." Julie instructed as she sat in the passenger seat rooting through her purse for her cellphone.

"Mom, I drive better when I talk." Lina insisted.

"You can talk and drive but just pay more attention to the latter of the two."

"What's that mean?" Lina asked as she glanced at Julie briefly.

"It means,' Pay more attention to the road before you run us off of it.' Where is my phone?!" Julie exclaimed.

"What do you need your phone for?" Kale asked, coming up on the left side of her seat so he could look over her shoulder.

"I need to find out if I work tonight. They want me to cover the hostess stand for a few nights this week."

"So you're gonna come home from trying to sell houses all day, then go straight to freakin' Outback Steakhouse?" Lina asked," Mom, you're working yourself to death."

Julie laughed and replied," No, I'm not. It's not that big of a deal. A lot of single moms work two jobs."

"Yeah, but still..." Lina responded. She was unhappy for the first time that day, hating that her mom had to do all the work to support them. She wanted to get a job so she could help out, but whenever she suggested it, Julie insisted that she wouldn't let Lina lose her social life to work nor would she take her money, so, Lina working was completely out of the question.

Julie quickly changed the subject back to Kale," Let me tell you... when he paused like that, after the whole 'three years in Juvy' thing, I think I nearly fainted."

"So did I!" Lina replied, her face erupting into that huge beautiful smile again," Kale, you are so lucky that judge was sympathetic!"

"I know. Except now I have to stay locked up in the house for three months."

"Trust me," Lina said, "It's better than staying locked up for three months in Juvy, dude."

"Ok..." Kale's payroll officer had hooked a black box-like sensor around his ankle, and then activitated it," You're all set to go nowhere. Now green means you're good, you're in the safe zone which covers about a hundred foot radius from this guy..." She tapped the signal box that set the boundaries for the bracelet," It's like a modem. It gets a constant signal from Mr. Bracelet that it sends through your phone line to the monitoring station downtown."

"Man, you're so screwed." Lina told him, laughing half hysterically. He mocked her and then wrapped his arm around her neck and rubbed his knuckles into her head quickly once he had her in a head lock.

"Ow!" Lina whined as she fixed her hair back into it's regular spot once she had pushed away from him.

"This thing knows where you are, where you've been, and what you're thinking 24/7."

"What if accidentally goes beyond..." Julie started.

"Red light flashes, you've got ten seconds to get your butt back to green or else."

"Or what? The execution squad shows up?" Kale asked sarcastically.

"And they don't bring blindfolds." The payroll officer turned to Julie," It's tamper-proof and water-proof, so don't stick your foot in a bucket of water and try to hop across the lawn. It won't work and you'll look stupid." She turned her attention to Julie," Are you all set up to pay the incarceration fee, Mrs. Brecht?"

Julie looked at her, and paused for a while before answering," No."

"Twelve bucks a day. I accept all major credit cards."

"Ok. My wallet's right over here."

"She's like a Nazi." Lina whispered to Kale," A... payroll officer Nazi."

"I know, right." Kale whispered back.

The payroll officer turned back to them and said to Kale in a warning tone," By the way... house arrest may sound like a breeze. But I've seen folks get a bit loopy after a while, sometimes after just a day or two. So find constructive ways to occupy your time."

Kale nodded, and Lina said," He'll just play XBox and listen to music all day."

"Hell yeah." Kale replied," Three months of doing nothing except sitting on my ass? Too good to be true..."

"BOOM!" Kale exclaimed as a bomb went off on Ghost Recon," Just get your position and hold it." The person over his headset objected, but he said more forcefully," Just get your position and hold it! There's a secret entrance around the back." He covered the mouthpiece and screamed in a high-pitched girl voice," LINA!"

"I'm coming! What's happening?! Are we being ambushed?!" She asked as she ran back into the room carrying two cans of Pepsi. She tossed one at him and it hit him dead in the chest.

"Sorry." She apologized hurriedly as she picked up her controller and resumed running throughout the battlefield," Kale, toss a grenade! Shit! Someone toss a grenade!" She yelled into her headset.

Suddenly, the headset went silent, and the game screen froze.

"No way. No way." Lina said, as she and Kale looked at each other, horrified," Kale..." She hit him in the arm frantically," Fix it. Fix it!"  
"Did you clean it?! Lina, did you clean it before you put it in?!"  
"Yes!" Lina exclaimed as the screen went back to the home page for the XBox. Kale attempted to reconnect to XBox Live, but nothing happened.

"It's not the game. Something's wrong with the freakin' connection."

Lina sat back in her rocking video game chair, dejected.

"You mean to tell me... we made all that progress... and now..." Lina moaned dramatically and flipped her chair backwards so that it stayed partially upside down.

"Lina... is it possible to survive without an XBox?" Kale asked as he tried one last futile time to connect to XBox Live.

"I don't think so." Lina replied in monotone as she shook her head," I mean... Amish people do." She sat up just as he turned off the console," I'm hungry."

"Me too."

They walked downstairs, and he grabbed a jar of peanut butter and the chocolate syrup from the refrigerator and she grabbed celery and the container of cream cheese.

"Rabbit food." Kale said, shaking his head.

"Shut up, asshole." Lina replied with a mouth full of celery and cream cheese.

They sat down in front of the TV, and Lina jumped up and grabbed the remote.

"No way! You're gonna put on some crappy soap opera!"

"I will not, jerkwad, I'm gonna find something wonderful to watch."  
"Yeah... go to ESPN. I wanna see who won the game."  
"Please don't talk with your mouth full." Lina told him with her mouth stuffed to it's limit.

He looked at her, his cheeks puffed out from all the peanut butter and chocolate that was in his mouth. He shook his head and said," Hypocrite."  
"God, Mom would be so proud!" Lina told him as she swallowed.

"Oh, I know. Cheaters!"

"Yes!" Lina exclaimed. She sat back on the couch, and started to watch the best trashy show on TV, besides Jerry Springer.

"Oh... uh oh!" Kale exclaimed, his mouth full again," Here she comes..." They both laughed as the woman stalked towards her cheating boyfriend, looking ready to spit fire.

"What the f are you doing?!" The woman screamed on TV.

"Caught ya, bro." Kale narrated.

"Allen, what are you doing?" The host asked him as he got out of the car.

"He's bumpin' and grindin' with a prostitute, dude!" Lina burst out, spitting out fragments of celery as she screamed this," God, we're gross."

"I know right. Oh Jesus... man up, Allen." A look of pain crossed Kale's face as he jumped up.

"And that's why I eat rabbit food!" Lina yelled after him.

Kale exited the bathroom and tossed the Sports Illustrated aside. He looked sideways and saw that the door to his dad's office was open slightly. He hadn't been in there much since he had died. In fact, he avoided it at all costs.

He opened the door a little more, and just looked around. Just as he went to step inside, he stopped. He couldn't do it. So he backed out and walked back downstairs.

As he passed a window, he saw that there were people moving in next door. There was a MILF, a husband who looked like a rich businessman, and then... he saw that there was a young girl, about his age. She was definately hot.

"Oh my God..."

"Hey perv... if you want to talk to her, then just go do it."

He went to come back in to quickly and he banged his head on the window which he hadn't even realized he was sticking his head out of.

"Shit, Lina!"

She was laughing hysterically.

"Smooth, screwboy." She walked away and he followed her," Do you know her?"

"Not really." Lina told him as she flipped through the mail. She opened a red envelope and said," Oh look, Saw III off of Netflix. Awesome."

"What's her name?"

"Ashley. Look, I talked to her for like five minutes. I was out getting the mail and she was fiddling with her car, so we got to talking and I asked her if she wanted to hang out sometimes."

"What did she say?" Kale asked, a little too eagerly.

Lina was silent, looking weirded-out but completely amused," Are you in heat or something?"

She laughed at her own joke, and for some reason, thought of Ronnie, who would have found that little crack hilarious. God, he had to get back from Hawaii. She needed comic relief. Kale could be funny, but he got really emo sometimes. But then again, that was understandable. She got a little emo sometimes too.

Kale couldn't help but smile a little at her joke, but he really wanted to talk to her. He hadn't had a girlfriend for about a year, and his last girlfriend had annoyed him to the point of insanity.

"Ok, Dr. Lovin', yes, she said she'd hang out over here sometime. I was just being nice, but hey, who knows? She might be a cool girl."

Kale didn't say anything, but secretly he was thrilled. He was smiling dreamily, and Lina was looking at him and giggling to herself, trying to think of more nicknames and insults that she could throw at him, but she had exhausted him.

"You're funny, Kale." She grabbed the orange juice out of the refrigerator and took a long drink," I'm calling Tony."

"Don't do that." Kale told her distractedly as he continued to stare out the window. Finally, it registered... she was calling her dooshbag boyfriend to come over," Lina! Seriously, can't you find a boyfriend that is actually..."

"Actually what?" Lina asked impatiently as she dialed his number," Hey babe!" She walked away, already deep in conversation.

"That's actually good to you." He finished, but she wasn't around to listen. She wouldn't have listened even if she was in the room. She never listened.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Kale woke up from a nap that afternoon when the doorbell rang. He walked down the stairs, and opened the door, only to be shocked at the sight of something on fire that was sitting on his porch.

"Shit!" He stepped on it until the flames were extinguished, but his foot slid, and he realized that he was standing in a steaming pile... of dog shit.

There were two boys on bikes laughing hysterically and slapping each other high five.

"I bet you think that's real funny!" He yelled at them as he walked down the steps.

"Aww, what are you gonna do? Kill us like you killed your teacher?!"

"Not before I shove my foot and this shit back up your asses!" He ran across the yard, then down the driveway as fast as he could after the kids who were pedaling as fast as their little legs would take them.

"Dude, you said he couldn't leave his house!"

"He can't!"

"Oh shit..." Kale muttered as he stopped dead in the middle of running. He started to run back, hearing the beeping on his ankle bracelet, which just made him run faster.

He threw himself on the ground and rolled around frantically, while his neighbors looked at him in worry that he was some crazy person. Well, they already knew he was somewhat crazy because he had slugged his teacher. Word traveled fast in that neighborhood, and every mother had warned their children to stay away from Kale Brecht because he was a violent psychopath.

Lina heard sirens from up in her room and she dropped the phone, which she had been using to talk to Tony, and ran downstairs and out the front door. She stopped dead before she stepped in the dog shit that was smeared on her front porch, and almost started laughing when she saw Kale lying on the lawn, but her smile quickly faded when she saw two cops get out of the car.

"Shit..." She hopped over the dog shit and ran onto the lawn.

"They put shit on my stairs!" Kale was protesting," I wasn't trying to go anywhere, officers, but these two kids put shit on my stairs!"

"On the ground! Hands behind your head."

"Guiterrez..." Lina read, and she quickly walked over to Kale.

"Young lady, you need to step away from him."

"I'm his sister, man!" Lina got down on her knees beside Kale, and said," Way to go, jackass!"

"The cop is my teacher's cousin, don't you think that's a conflict of interest?!" Kale asked his payroll officer over the phone.

"He didn't take you away, did he?"

"No." Kale admitted grudgingly.

"That's because first times happen. But the next time, you'll be back in front of a judge, do you understand?"

"Yeah." He hung up and dropped the phone to the floor before flopping himself on his bed in frustration. First, he steps in flaming dog shit, now he had to sit and deal with Lina's jackass boyfriend Tony. Today was a great day already.

"Alright, alright, break it up." Kale ordered as he came into the living room to find Lina and Tony on the couch making out madly.

"Kale!" Lina whined as she jumped off of Tony.

"What the fuck, man?" Tony asked as he sat up too.

"This is the living room. If you guys are gonna slobber all over each other, I suggest you go somewhere else. It's nasty." He told them, knowing that he was jumping on both of their nerves," And..." He randomly punched in a channel that would take him to HBO," I'm trying to watch..." He saw what had come up and he rolled his eyes; this was his luck," Brokeback Mountain."

"Ok, queer." Tony replied as he pulled Lina off the couch," You know, I didn't think someone who tries to pass themselves off as a teacher-slugging badass would be a fucking fag."

"Ok, Anthony." Kale replied uncaringly, trying not to laugh out loud as he acted like he was really into the movie," Now skedaddle, I'm trying to watch this."

"God, you're so gay." Tony replied, laughing nastily," Dude, Lina, why didn't you tell me your brother was a queer?"

"This is beautiful." Kale said, making his voice sound choked up and about to break," Lina, where are the tissues?"  
Lina rolled her eyes and took Tony's hand and put it around her waist," Shut up, Kale."

As they were walking away, she heard Lina ask," Why do you have to be such a dick, Tony?"

Once they were gone, Kale began flipping through channels. He turned his head when he saw a figure move out of the corner of his eye. He looked, and it was the girl who had just moved in next door. He jumped up and ran to the window. In his excitement, he accidentally banged against it. She turned her head, and he ducked down instinctively.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit... so fucking graceful, Kale. Great job..." He scolded himself quietly. He jumped a foot off the ground when the doorbell rang suddenly.

"GET IT, KALE!" Lina's voice screamed from upstairs. She was using that bratty tone that she always used when she was around Tony. Kale walked to the door, and opened it to find that Ronnie was standing there.

"Hola, Senor Brecht!" He exclaimed girlishly.

"RON-O!" They hugged quickly," What's going on, man?!'

"Nothing. Have you been... showering?"

"What do you mean, have I been showering?"

"Have some macadamias..." Ronnie handed Kale a jar of nuts and Kale laughed slightly.

"This is all you got me, some stupid nuts?"

"Where's Lina?" Ronnie asked.

"Upstairs with dickhead..." He stopped when he saw Lina bouncing down the steps.

"Ronnie!" She exclaimed as she jumped into his arms. He spun her around, and she kissed his cheek," How was your trip, man?"

"Oh, it was awesome. This Hawaiian chick... with some huge coconuts, if you know what I'm sayin'..." He and Kale pounded their fists together and Lina rolled her eyes.

"Woman-in-room. Please keep conversation unisex." Lina said," God, you two are such guys."

"And you're such a girl." Ronnie responded and Lina punched him hard in the arm, to which he winced.

"And you're such a pussy. Anyhoo, finish your story."

Lina went into the living room, and sat down on the couch and Kale and Ronnie followed her.

"So she taught me how to say..." Ronnie said something in Hawaiian in an overly-sexy voice, and Lina and Kale both laughed hysterically.

"What does that mean?" Kale asked.

"I don't know, but I'm thinking it was some kind of Hawaiian mating call."

"You're lying." Lina giggled as she rolled her eyes at how hormone-driven her brother's best friend was.

"Am not!" Ronnie protested," I resent that, Angelina."

"Oh, Ronnie, I've got somethign to show you. Actually, Lina, you haven't seen this either."

"What? Did Mom hide booze in the house again? Did you find it? What kind?" Lina asked quickly in a soft, mischevious whisper.

Ronnie and Kale both looked at her with furrowed eyebrows and mouths agape; Where the hell had that come from?

"What? I'm a teenager, I like booze." She rolled her eyes and started the walk up the steps, with Kale and Ronnie at her heels. They passed Tony, who in his quick run for the door had thrown on his shirt backwards.

"Peace, Lina."

"Peace, Tony."

Ronnie and Kale looked at each other in complete and utter confusion; they had been dating for a year and that's all they did when one left? Tony slapped Lina's ass, and Kale turned around quickly, about to say something, but Lina stopped him by grabbing his arm and pulling him the rest of the way up the stairs.

"Whoa, Lene... I thought you and dickhead were dating?" Ronnie asked as they heard the door close.

"What?" Lina asked, smiling gigantically at how naeve he was," Are you kidding me? Tony and me... together?!" She laughed somewhat hysterically and said," Earmuff it, Kale." Of course, Kale didn't but he wished that he had after what his sister spat out next," Tony and I are just fuck-buddies, that's all. We have been for like, over a year. God, you two are behind on your gossip."

"You and Tony were never dating? But... you were always waiting for him to call you..."

"So he could come over and..."

"Oh... my... God." Ronnie pointed at the structure Kale had made out of about three boxes of Twinkie's," You made the Tower of Twinkie... is that in the stalker's handbook?"

"I'm not a stalker, Ronald, I'm just making simple observations. The inevitable side effects of chronic boredom."

"Find your passion, Kale." Ronnie chuckled as he and Lina looked at each other and made crazy faces while pointing at Kale.

"Ok, check this out." Kale grabbed his binoculars and handed them to Ronnie," Right over there. I'm telling you, Lina, I can't believe we never noticed this."

"What?" Lina asked, peering out the window at every detail of the neighborhood that was visible to her," I don't see anything."

"Guys, there is an entire world outside this window."

Mrs. Pilch... Everyday, she goes to the country club to pay tennis with Betty Big-Bangs over there."

"Ooh..." Ronnie said," Do you think those are silicone or saline?"

"You're such an ass, Ronald." Lina muttered to herself as she flipped through a Sports Illustrated because it was way more interesting than looking out the window at their neighbors who never did anything.

"She waves goodbye to Linda, the maid, who has a tittie tat."

Ronnie was suddenly more interested as he turned around to see the maid shaking out rugs over the balcony of the second story.

"The ladies disappear..." Kale continued narrating," Que Mr. Pilch getting home from work. Watch, watch."

"Oh shit!" Lina laughed as she hit the couch in excitement," No fucking way!" The maid and Mr. Pilch were throwing each other's clothes off and kissing passionately," Now we know why Mr. Pilch bought the maid a Porsche for her birthday. And I'll bet you anything that Tiffany's bracelet that she's wearing is from him too."

"That is most likely a bet you'd win, sister." Kale told her as they all went into Daniel's study.

"Are these the little shits that put the flaming shit on your porch?" Kale asked.

"Yeah. Haven't thought of a retaliation yet, but I'm working on it."

"Hmm... the runt is mine." Ronnie proclaimed before he followed Kale and Lina back into Kale's room. This time, they went to the opposite window on the other side of the room. They went to the window on the right side of the room, and saw an older man mowing his lawn.

"That's Robert Turner. He mows his lawn twice a day. Other than that I don't really see him."

"What was that?" Ronnie asked when he heard splashing.

He looked and saw Ashley, the girl Lina had been talking to, swimming in her pool.

"Oh my God..." He whispered," Who is that?"

"Her name is Ashley, and she's a living, breathing human being not a piece of meat, so don't try to pass her around like she is one." Lina warned them as she picked up an XBox controller and began playing.

"Come on, Lina, we're not like that! Unlike Tony..." Kale added.

"Oh, stop with Tony. I have hormones too, you know!"  
"No. New rule... you're only allowed to play with Barbies until you're thirty. No more guys." Ronnie told her.

"Aww, is that your attempt at being protective? Don't smother me."

"I've got to talk to her." Kale told Ronnie, so low that Lina couldn't hear even though she was staining to listen while pretending to ignore them.

"What's stopping you?"

Kale looked down at his bracelet, and said," What do you think's stopping me?"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I might have strayed from the storyline a little bit in this chapter, but as you can see by the end, we're right back in Disturbia. However, since I didn't have enough space to write this in the frickin' summary, I'll let all you loyal readers know... this fanfic will have more emotion to it and also, towards the end, will become very graphic. Not like ridiculous Hostel graphic (though you can expect a Hostel fanfic soon) but it will be a lot more dramatic than the b/s ending we were shown in the movie. Also, the characters will vary slightly. (For instance, Kale is slightly more paranoid in this, as if that were possible) Peace.

PS: Sorry this chapter is so long. My bad.

Kale leaned over the bushes in an attempt to get the mail from the mailbox, but was unable to grasp more than three envelopes. If he were to run around to get it, the ankle bracelet would beep and he'd be off to Juvy, but he needed an excuse to be outside when Ashley got home. He had to talk to her.

And sure enough, her SUV came down the street and as she got out of her car, he made sure to add some grunts of effort as he attempted to get the rest of the mail. She saw him struggling, and at first began to walk away, after being warned not to go near him. But then, her charitable nature took over and she approached him.

"Can I help you?" She asked as she opened his mailbox.

"No, I've got it. I'm just..." She handed her the mail," Thanks. I'm just a little spatially challenged right now."

"I can see that. You've got that whole Martha Stewart thing going on."

"Yeah, except... I don't get time off for office visits. I've also never been any good at decorating pastries." They both laughed at his lame joke, and then he continued," So where are you from?"

"The city. But now... forcefully relocated."

"Oh, that sucks." Kale told her.

"Ashley!" Her mom had come outside, and saw that she was talking to that crazy neighbor boy. She changed her tone to sickeningly sweet and said," Could you come in here please?"

"Ooh, looks like you've gotta go." Kale told her.

"Yeah." Ashley agreed as she turned away," She's always polite and always says 'please', but she's got that tone, did you notice?"

"Oh, I know the tone."

"I'm Ashley by the way."

He nodded and as she walked away he said to himself," I knew that too."

"So basically what you're saying is I'm not allowed to do _anything_?!" Lina screamed at Julie, growing more and more enraged as their fight fumed on.

"Lina, I'm not going to fight with you, ok? You know that I don't deal with you when you're in one of your moods. So just go cool down and then come talk to me, and I'll explain my reasoning to you." Julie told her calmly as she sat on the couch facing her daughter who was in her usual fight pose; hands on the hips, lurched forward, her face drained of color and her eyes bulging. Lina really was capable of looking like a monster when she was angry. The beautiful, vibrant girl she was disappeared behind her rage and she turned almost animalistic.

"Oh, fuck that!" She slammed her sweatshirt that she had forgotten to let go of after taking it off onto the ground and then slid her flats on.

"Excuse me? You wanna try that again?" Julie asked, now starting to get angry. She knew that her kids were teenagers and that they cussed, but they wouldn't do it around her. And she definately knew that Lina would not scream at her the way she was right then.

"No, I don't." Lina grabbed the car keys and then stormed for the door.

"Where do you think you're going, Angelina?"

"I... am going out and having a social life. I'm going to go out and party with my friends and snort ecstasy, just a little bit, and sleep with guys... lots of them. I'm going to live, Mother."

Kale listened from the top of the steps and laughed quietly, amazed at his sister's boldness. He hated that she was being so brutal to Julie who had given up everything to support them after their father had died. But hell, at least she was being honest.

"You really do try to pass yourself as a badass, do you know that?" Julie asked, shaking her head in disappointment. She knew that was the one statement that got under Lina's skin," You've never done drugs or had sex, and you and I both know that, so just stop acting like something you're not.

"I don't try to pass myself off as anything, Mother! I don't tell lies. I'm not fake! You're the one that tries to act like the saintly parent when it's your fault that Dad died!"

Lina knew that one was harsh, but she knew how to get under Julie's skin the same way Julie knew how to get under hers. Julie was silent for a long time, staring at Lina with hurt and tired eyes, while her daughter's identical blue ones glowered back, her glare thick with defiance and cruelness.

Lina, sensing this weakness in her mom decided to keep pushing her. She didn't know where this sudden harshness had come from; maybe it was from being so damn miserable all the time. Grieving for her dad really had taken it's toll on her, and changed her as a person. All she wanted to do was scream and have someone hear her. She wanted someone to hurt like her.

"If you hadn't called him, Kale wouldn't have been distracted, and he would have been able to pay attention to the road, and get out of the way of the car, and he would have swerved and not flipped, and Dad would still be alive," She was talking in circles, and she knew that; it was the drugs talking.

"Lina, you know that's not true. How can you..." Julie quickly wiped her tears away and Lina's mouth slowly curved into a wicked grin," You know what?"

There was silence between them as Julie looked up at her. She sighed, not able to believe that she was about to say this. But she couldn't deal with Lina anymore. Her daughter had never been cruel or disrespectful the way she was now. She had never gone against her authority as much as she was now.

"We've done this song and dance since your father died."

"That's funny. I wasn't aware we were singing or dancing." Lina replied sarcastically as she opened the door.

"We've been fighting and I'll admit I've purposely tried to hurt you emotionally."

"Oh, cue the apology." Lina giggled evilly to herself as she stepped out the door.

"Lina, there is no way in hell you are getting an apology from me!" Julie snapped," You should know that. I'm just gonna tell you now... you're on your own. You do your rebel thing, and you have a great time with it. But until you can show some respect for me, I will not have anything to do with you."

Lina gasped and covered her mouth in overexaggerated shock and excitement," You promise?!" And with that, she blew a kiss in her direction and strutted out the door to the car.

Kale sat at the top of the steps, knowing that he should go down and tell his mom that she was just acting up because she missed their dad, and that she didn't mean any of the things she had said, and not to give up on her, but although he could think of all the things he should say, he just couldn't think of how to put all of that into words.

"Dinner's on the table." Julie told Kale as he came down the stairs into the kitchen," I'm working the hostess stand again tonight, so I won't be in til after twelve. Where did I put my keys?" She asked herself.

"Ok." Kale continued eating in silence, and as she walked over to the phone to scan through the call list, he saw that her eyes were puffy and still red even after she had tried to use cover up to mask the swelling tears brought.

"Have you, um..." She stopped, sounding like her voice was about to break," Have you heard from your sister?"

"Yeah." He told her with no hesitation," She's ok. A little high, but otherwise, she's fine."

Julie sat down across from him at the table and looked like she wanted to say something, but she didn't know how. She rubbed her eyes and then ran her fingers through her wavy dark brown hair before looking at Kale.

"I know that you used to feel that your dad and I made too much of a big deal over Lina. I know you used to think that we paid more attention to her than we did to you. And I know that I also used to deny it..." She squeezed his hand, and he squeezed it back, knowing that it was comforting to both of them," But I'm not denying it anymore. We did fuss over her, and excuse it as good kid vs bad kid. Kale... you have no idea how proud I am of you. You've had your issues..." They both laughed slightly, knowing she was referring to him being on house arrest," But you've always been the kid I can rave about. Now don't get me wrong... I love your sister. I love her so much it hurts." Julie's voice broke, and tears began to fall from her eyes," I hate seeing her like this. But I just... I really need to thank you for knowing that I'm just a single parent and that I can't..." She paused, trying to catch her breath. When she took a few deep breaths, her tears slowed down and she continued," I can't handle both of you being rebels." They both laughed again, and Kale smiled slightly.

"She'll come around, Mom. I know she will. Lina's in there somewhere."

"I hope so." Julie wiped her eyes, and smiled slightly," Well, now I have to go fix my makeup. Do you want to talk about anything?"

Kale shook his head," I've got nothing."

Julie hesitated, not knowing if he was being sincere. But Kale was a hard person to read; she never knew what he was really feeling.

"Mom, you don't walk around parking lots by yourself, do you?" Kale asked, and Julie turned to look at him from the door.

"No. Honey, you have got to stop watching the news."

"I know. Be safe though."

"I will. I'll see you when I get home."

"Ok. Love you."

"Love you too."

Kale sat slumped in the large reclining armchair flipping through channels. He stopped on yet another news report about yet another missing girl. This one, like the others, was a redhead and was younger. But now they had some new information.

"This unidentified person was driving a 1960's era blue Ford Mustang that may have been dented on the left side..." He looked over at Julie who was lying on the couch asleep. His watch beeped, and he turned it off quickly, and looked at her again. She had stirred, but didn't wake up. The door opened and closed, and he knew that Lina was now home. Great. He had to get her upstairs before she came into the living room in one of her doped-up rages and woke Julie up just to fight with her. He threw the blanket he had been using off of himself and then covered Julie with it before heading into the front foyer of the house.

Lina was crawling slowly up the stairs, laughing hysterically to herself and muttering about things that only made sense to her.

"Carpet is soft..." She sang as she finally managed to climb the second stair.

Kale had dealt with her before after she had taken drugs and knew that startling her was the worst thing to do, and that making her angry or scared could result in him getting thrown out of a window.

"Daddy looks happy now..." She continued to murmur to herself as she brought one of her hands onto the third step and then stopped, incapable of putting her other arm up there immediately.

"Hey Lina." Kale greeted her softly.

She jumped slightly, but didn't scream and start thrashing around like she often did when she became alarmed abruptly while under the influence of whatever drug it was that she had been taking.

"Hi brother." She moved her other hand onto the third step and slowly pulled her behind onto the third step.

"You're gonna be here all night trying to get up these steps."  
"That's ok." She replied, smiling up at him before sighing and slumping back against the wall," The carpet is so soft."

"Lina... there's no carpet. It's wood." He told her, as he sat down beside her.

"Really? This is... this is wood? Wow!" She exclaimed, looking and sounding thrilled.

"Shh... Mom is asleep. You have to be quiet." He told her gently, trying to be delicate so as to not set her off.

"Mommy doesn't love me anymore." Lina told him as she stuck her bottom lip out in the puppy dog sad face. But she had actual tears in her eyes. When his sister was on ecstasy she became more moody than someone with bipolar disorder. In two seconds flat, she had gone from content to depressed.

"Mom loves you a lot, Lene. So much that she can barely stand it." He told her gently as she started to run her fingers up into her hair, and then pull on it slightly. She shook her head around, thinking this would make her stop crying, but it only made her start to sob softly. He reached out and smoothed her hair out so it wasn't sticking out all over the place, which it had been after she had shook it around and pulled it," She can't stand to see you do this to yourself."

"She doesn't... care. She wishes I had died instead of Dad. Don't you realize that?"

"And what makes you think that?"

Lina hesitated a long time, following something with her eyes that only she could see. But finally, once she became bored with whatever it was that she was watching, she looked at Kale," It's the way she looks at me."

Kale looked at his sister, knowing that they had a lot to talk about. But there was no way he was going to get through to her when she was depressed and high on ecstasy.

"Can I carry you up the steps, Lina?" He asked as he reached his hand out to her. At first, she backed against the wall defensively and her eyes bulged in fear; this was the extreme anxiety that the ecstasy brought," It's just me, Lene. I'm your brother, you know I'm not gonna hurt you."

Lina looked at his hand and then at him. With tears in her eyes, she said," You remind me so much of Daddy." And with thoughts of her dad whom she missed so much in her head, she reached out and took his hand and let him walk her up the stairs into her bedroom.

Once Lina had passed out, Kale slumped down in his Dad's office chair, praying he hadn't missed Ashley's nightly routine. Once he had sat in his chair, he discovered that she was already in the middle of doing some sort of strange mix of Pilates and yoga. His favorite part of watching this was that she was wearing a sports bra and short shorts... he was a guy, what could he say?

"Starting without me, huh?" He said softly as he ate some popcorn from the half-empty bowl.

When Ashley's father stormed into her room and began yelling things at her that he couldn't hear, it definately broke the mood. He watched as they yelled at each other, and then finally, her dad left in a rage. She slammed the door behind him, grabbed three tissues from the box and wiped her eyes. Then she looked towards Kale.

Kale's heart froze for a second in shock, and he sunk down in his chair, praying she couldn't see him.

"No... she can't see me. It's too dark in here. It's too dark."

Maybe all she could see was the office lamp's dim glow, and not him sitting in his father's office chair watching her. If she could see him, she would notice that he was no longer watching her out of hormone-driven voyeurism but out of concern. Her life certainly wasn't plushy like he thoguht it was. He thought everyone that he saw had a nice, peaceful life; he didn't think anyone was capable of suffering a loss the way he had and he also didn't think anyone else had huge responsibilities like he did. He had to take care of his mom and his sister, and no one else had that kind of burden. Self pity? Maybe a little bit. But for him, thinking everyone else's life was better than his gave him hope that maybe one day things would return to normal.

He fell asleep in his dad's office chair that night, watching her sit on her bed and dab at her eyes every once in a while as she watched the TV screen in her room with unfocused eyes and her mind elsewhere. When he snapped awake, his first instinct was to look at the clock. It was nearing eleven, and when he looked towards Ashley's house, he saw that her lights were off.

As Kale walked towards his bed once back in his own room, he grabbed his DS off of his dresser. He plopped down on his bed and began playing Call of Duty, about to beat it for the third time since getting put on house arrest.

But his focus was diverted when lights flashed over his bed. He tossed his DS aside after hastily shutting it off and looked outside to see Robert Turner returning home. He grabbed his binoculars and looked out his window. He couldn't see him through the tinted windows of the his Mustang. His blue 1960's era FordMustang. Kale didn't realize he was holding his breath until the dent in Turner's car caught the light, when he gasped.

"Mustang..." He muttered distractedly as his eyes stayed glued to the dent that was exactly where the newspeople had said it was; on the left side. As he stared hard through the binoculars, he felt hands grasp his shoulder. He yelled out in surprise, and whipped around. He had startled Julie too, because she had screamed as soon as he had.

"Oh my God, Mom..." He said breathlessly as he put his binoculars down.

"I'm sorry." She said quickly as she caught her breath," I'm sorry." They both laughed.

"It's ok. God, Mom, you're like a ninja. I thought you were asleep."

"I was. But I just wanted to check on you. What are you doing?"

"Nothing. Just, uh... just... watching the wind, being constructive." He assured her, trying to think of a believable reason why he was peering out of his window, while also wondering if she knew something was wrong," Lina's home."

"I know." Julie sighed, and ran her fingers through her hair," Did you talk to her? Is she ok?"

"Yeah, she's fine. She came in and went straight upstairs." He lied," Are you gonna talk to her tomorrow?"

Julie nodded, and quickly changed the subject," I just wanted to come in and say goodnight."

"Goodnight." She put both of her hands on his face, and they kissed each other's cheek," Love you."

"I love you." She responded as she walked out of the door.

"Jeez, Mom..." He said, still reeling from being startled by her. They both laughed, and then she was out of sight. Kale went to bed that night, trying to tell himself that it wasn't possible for his neighbor to be the serial killer that was killing all of these women. Murder happened, but not that close to home. Not right next door.

The next day, Kale and Ronnie watched Ashley brace herself to jump into the cold water of her pool.

"Oh, it's so warm..." Ronnie whispered, as they watched in anticipation," Brace yourself, girl. This is for the gold." He kept leaning closer and closer, and suddenly, the binoculars her was using to get a closer look at her banged hard against the window, and they both ducked down in panic.

"Oh my God!" Kale exclaimed," You are a jackass. You are a genuine jackass."

"She didn't hear it. Do you think she heard it?" Ronnie asked, looking panic stricken.

"Of course she heard it, my deaf aunt in Omaha heard it!" Kale responded furiously. He turned around and came up slowly to see what Ashley was doing. She was walking out of her pool, and she turned in their direction and looked right at him. He quickly threw himself back to the floor and pressed himself against the wall.

"She saw me!"

"No she didn't." Ronnie looked up to see Ashley still looking in the direction of Kale's window," Oh, maybe she did."

They turned back to the window, and Kale grabbed the binoculars, and peered through them at Ashley's pool without coming fully into view in the window. He saw that she was nowhere in sight.

"She's gone." He informed Ronnie, sounding confused.

"Where'd she go?" Ronnie asked looking all over the yard for her, but she really was gone," Are her swims usually that short?"

"No, she usually takes her time with it. That's what I'm telling you!"

They were silent as they looked, scanning all over her yard, and even into Kale's, thinking that maybe Ashley had gone over to talk to Lina who was lying on a lawn chair in their backyard, roasting in the sun, still baked from the night before. Suddenly, the shrill doorbell sounded, and they both jumped a foot off the ground, and turned their heads in the direction of Kale's bedroom door.

"No..." They both groaned as they stood up and went for the door.

"It might not be her." Ronnie assured both Kale and himself as Kale approached the front door where the doorbell was still ringing. He glanced into one of the windows on either side of the door and then jumped back behind the wall of the dining room.

"It's her."

"Shit!" Ronnie jumped up and down excitedly at how totally screwed they were," Dude, just don't answer it."

"She knows I'm here, I've got the thing! I've got the thing on my foot. I have to answer it."

"So answer it! Damn!" Lina's voice exclaimed as she walked to the door and threw it open.

"Lina, don't!" Ronnie exclaimed in a loud whisper.

"Why the fuck not?" She asked with the door open to reveal Ashley standing there," Hey girl!"  
"Hey baby!" Ashley greeted her happily as they kissed each other's cheek," Ooh, you're still screwed up, aren't you?"

"Totally." Lina smiled happily," Had the munchies all morning... been laying in the sun... staring at the grass... How are you feeling?" Lina asked, her voice still slurred slightly.

"I feel fine. A little headache, but swimming took that away. Remember, I only drank, so I'm not half as fucked up as you are."

"I know." Lina sighed and they walked into the kitchen, followed closely by the drooling Ronnie and Kale," I'm never snorting again."

Ashley giggled and both Ronnie and Kale looked at each other, totally infatuated with her, no matter what she did.

"Oh, Ash, these are the jackass twins. Kale and Ronnie."

"I already met your brother. Well, his head doesn't look that huge, Lina." Ashley informed her and they both burst out cackling," I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. It's good to see you again, Kale."

"You... um, you too."

God! He scolded himself inside his head. He was such a loser.

"Say 'hi', Ronald." Kale instructed, unable to take his eyes off of her.

"Hi Ronald." Ronnie repeated as he smiled gigantically like a caveman who just saw fire for the first time.

"Oh Jesus..." Lina muttered in annoyance as she scooped a large chunk of ice cream out of the carton and shoved it into her mouth," What took y'all jackasses so long to answer the fucking door anyway?" She asked through a mouthful of Half Baked Ben and Jerry's.

"We were upstairs playing." Kale informed her and Lina and Ashley both shot them weirded out glances.

"Video games!" Ronnie filled in for him.

"Video games, huh? I know Lina's a video game junkie, and you know what... I'd like to play. I'm locked out, Lene. It totally sucks."

"Do you need... to use a phone or something?" Kale asked unsurely.

Ashley giggled slightly at how nervous he was and replied," No, thanks, I'd rather stay stranded."  
She walked through the house to the stairs and was followed closely by the boys, then by Lina. As the boys hastened to throw things into the closet to make the room much more neat, Lina chortled to herself as she opened a Snickers bar on Kale's desk and dipped it into the ice cream. She pulled the Snickers out and Kale gave her a grossed out look as she shoved it into her mouth after it was covered with ice cream.

"I was gonna eat that!" He muttered to her quickly and somewhat jokingly. She offered it out to him and he turned his head away with a scrunched up, grossed out baby face," I hope you..." He struggled to find a good insult," get cavities."

Lina laughed and then asked, once she had swallowed, said" So Ash... what do you think of these two bitches?"

"Well... they seem cool to me." She said as she stood up and grabbed the binoculars," Anything interesting out here?"

"Uh, uh... no!" Kale answered quickly.

Ashley laughed slightly and turned to them," Are you spying on the neighbors, Kale?"

He froze, not knowing what to say. If he said no, he'd be lying, and that wasn't cool. But if he said yes, automatically he really was the crazy neighbor kid who stalked people and who was a perverted voyeur. It was a total lose-lose situation. At least until Ronnie's genius that only showed itself in times of crisis showed itself.

"Actually he is." He answered quickly," See, he has this neighbor, who I guess by definition is would also be your neighbor, who may in fact, be a cold blooded killer from Texas."

"Is that so?" Ashley asked skeptically," This guy out here?"

"How come I don't know about this?" Lina asked, coming over to the window where the other three were observing Robert Turner mowing his lawn for the second time that day.

"Exhibit A. Robert Turner." Ronnie pointed out.

"Oh, come on!" Lina exclaimed, laughing hysterically as though this was the funniest idea she'd ever heard," The guy is like, sixty! Do you really think he's capable of kidnapping and killing those girls?! Not to mention 'bringing it on' if you know what I mean."

"Um, Lina, no one knows if the killer of these girls 'brings it on' because no one has found their bodies."

"Come on, Kale, Ronnie, didn't you pay attention in Psychology?"

"No." They answered simulataneously.

"Whatever. Tha'ts how those fucked up mothafuckers work. They go after people of the same race, and they go after people that they either have a vendetta against, or that they just want to see suffer and male serial killers almost always 'bring it on.' It's how they function."

"Gender-stereotyping aside, she's right." Ronnie told them dismally as they watched Turner like he was an exhibit in the zoo.

"Lina, do you watch those specials on The Discovery Channel around Halloween about serial killers?" Ashley asked as she peered through the binoculars at Turner, who was spreading fertilizer over his lawn.

"Every year." Lina replied through a yawn as she stretched," Not to mention, I pay attention in Psychology, unlike these two goofs."

Ashley plopped down on the couch beside Lina and Ronnie and Kale both continued to stare at her. Their efforts to keep from drooling over her were fruitless because they just couldn't stop staring and thinking about how beautiful she was.

When Lina and Ashley began talking about the night before that they barely remembered, Ronnie looked at Kale and quickly muttered," Dude, she's almost as hot as your mom!"

"My mom's not hot, Ronald." Kale shot back," She's mildly... She's... my mom!"

"Yo mom who is mad hot!"

"Did you know... if you weren't my best friend, I would knock you out for saying that?"

"Knock him out for what?" Lina and Ashley asked simulataneously. Just mention fights, which is in the category of high school drama, and you've got the attention of the most popular girl in school plus the attention of the soon to be sidekick of the most popular girl in school. That's how Lina and her clique rolled; wherever there was drama, there was Lina and her clique.

"Nothing. Ok, fine! Lina, is Mom hot?"

Lina gasped sharply and drew back her head in disgust," No! She's allowed to be pretty, beautiful even, but never hot! That's just wrong! And Ronald, she's like... forty. She's too old for you."

"Oh my God..." Ashley laughed.

"Ok, to get out of this awkward conversation, we'll get back to this allegation of the million-year-old Mr. Turner being a serial killer."

"Hear us out, hear us out..." Kale told her as he pulled up one of his video game rocking chairs. Ronnie pulled Lina's pink video game rocking chair up beside Kale, and instantly turned the seat vibrator on. They all looked at him, and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"What? I have tension in my back, guys!" He told them jokingly which caused even more laughter.

"Ok, so Turner..." Lina said, still smiling.

"He has a car..." Kale started.

"He has a car." Ronnie repeated.

"Exactly like the one she was last seen in."

"It's exactly like the one she was last seen in!"

"It's a 1960's era Ford Mustang and it's blue, just like this car."

"It's a 1960's..."

"Ronnie!" Ashley interrupted him and he stopped talking," Wow, guys that really narrows it down."

"Seriously. This is rich, suburban America, guys. Lots of people have expensive antique cars. That hot thirty year old up the street, he has a Camaro. It is... almost as hot as he is."

"Lina, Camaro's are ten times more common than 1960's Ford Mustang's." Kale told her.

"Oh, says who? Since when do you read Auto-Nerd magazine?" She asked, laughing at how serious he was all of a sudden," Holy shit... Kale, I thought you were just messing around. You're serious! You seriously think that dude is a serial killer!"

"Wait, he's not kidding?" Ashley asked, looking at Lina. They both burst into hysterics, and the boys looked at each other.

"Guys..." Ronnie started.

"It's dented in the same place as the one that the girl was last seen in."

This shut their laughter up, but not immediately. The possibility actually seemed... possible.

"This mustang?" Lina asked as she looked through the binoculars at Turner," The one with no dent on the left side?"

"No way! He could have had it fixed when the news story came out..." Kale started.

"Seriously. Well... there's a Longhorns thing." Ashley said," He plays volleyball." She gasped jokingly and whispered in faux seriousness," He collects skulls!"

"What?" They all looked out there and saw that she was talking about animal skulls, which were mounted on his wall.

"Yeah, that is a Longhorn skull, my friends." Ronnie told them.

"And where are Longhorns from?"

"Texas." Ronnie answered.

"And what state is the killer from?" Kale asked, jokingly gloating.

"Texas." Ronnie looked at them, as did Kale and their expressions both read,' Told you so."

"Hmm..." Kale said thoughtfully as they all looked back outside."

"Ok, fine." Ashley nodded as she and Lina turned back around on the couch," Where's the coffee and doughnuts?"

"What?" Kale asked, not having any idea what she was talking about.

"You can't have a stakeout without coffee and doughnuts!"

Later that day, in between checking their MySpace's, Lina and Ashley researched the events that had occured in Austin, Texas. There were some pretty graphic pictures that they were coming across, but it gave them insight into how sick and brutal this guy actually was.

"Ew..." Lina groaned when she read a sentence, which Ashley was kind enough to read out loud to the boys.

"This girl supposedly suffered severe blows to the neck and face. Gnarly..." Ashley whispered in fascination," I'm hungry. Let's order pizza."

Ronnie fell asleep after eating four slices pizza, and Lina left the room soon after she had eaten too, to do God knows what.

"Here." Ashley tossed Kale his phone that she had taken off of his desk.

"How did you get this? This is a total invasion of privacy!" Kale exclaimed, but he couldn't help but laugh at the amused look on her face," What'd you do?"

Ashley took Ronnie's phone from his pocket and went into his contacts. Assuming that the label,' BITCH BOY' was Kale's contact name, she hit "Send" and waited for Kale's phone to ring. When it did, "Me So Horny" by 2 Live Crew blasted through it and interrupted the silence. They both laughed.

"That's what you'll hear every time he calls you."

"Thanks." Kale replied, as they looked at each other. She diverted her glance down to his ankle monitor.

"Nice." She commented, referring to the flame and skull stickers that he had put on it.

"It's kind of scary, right?"

"It could use a little color." She answered as she grabbed some pink fingernail polish off of his desk that Lina had been using," Do you mind?"

"Not at all." He answered and she began to paint little pink hearts around the edge of the monitor and the band that kept it attached," So why the move?"

Ashley smiled slightly at how he started a conversation with such a serious topic," I guess my mom wanted to keep my dad on a shorter leash. City life had it's temptations." She sighed and was suddenly serious and bitter," But my mom still cries just as much as she always did and my dad doesn't care more than ever."

"What did they think, the extra bathroom and the two car garage would change things. 'It's ok, honey..." Kale said, imitating an interaction between Ashley's mom and dad," 'Infidelity aside, just look at all the floor space."

"Something like that." She smiled and looked up at him, and he couldn't help but smile too. His smile faded quickly though when she asked," So what are your issues, Kale?"

"What makes you think I have issues?" He asked, trying desperately to avoid the topic. He knew what she had probably heard; that he was a crazy ass teacher killer who would be back out terrorizing the streets once his house arrest was over.

"Oh, I don't know." She eyed his ankle monitor. They heard a car pull into the driveway, and when they looked down, they saw it was Turner.

"There he is." Kale said as Ashley watched him through the binoculars. They both saw a green Volkswagon pull in behind him. He walked up to the car to open the door for a red-headed girl of about twenty five.

"She's a red-head, Kale. Maybe he really is a killer." Ashley said sarcastically through a teasing smile. He laughed with her, knowing she was just messing with him," Ooh, who said chivalry's dead?"

"I didn't."

"You're probably the first guy in history to say that. No young guys open doors or pull out chairs anymore."  
"I have a mother and a sister, they'd kill me if I didn't do stuff like that." They both laughed, and looked at each other briefly before turning back to see the girl and Turner going into his house," That's a club girl for ya."

"How do you know?"

"The bright green bracelet is from The Place, the purple's from Club 360, and the black one is from Midnite."

"You must have one hell of a fake I.D."

"Don't need one." Ashley gasped suddenly and said," Oh my God, I love her shoes."

"Is that what you're looking at? Shoes..."

"Oh, he wants to get some tonight."

When Ashley said this, both of their minds quickly flashed over to Lina saying,' Male serial killers almost always 'bring it on'. It's just how they function.' They quickly shook the thought away and watched as the two sat on the couch while Turner poured them both wine.

"He's gonna get her all liquored up."

"I think she's already liquored up. Did you see that?" Ashley asked as the girl stumbled slightly while standing up. Turner stood up too, and went to kiss her but she turned away.

"Uh-oh..." Kale said, laughing slightly.

"De-nied." Ashley added as the girl stood in front of Turner. He sat back down and looked at her as she began to sway in front of him seductively.

"What do you think they're listening to?" Ashley asked as Kale videotaped Turner and his "friend".

"I don't know. Hold on." Kale gave her the camera and walked over to his stereo. He flipped on the radio and a rock song blared through.

"No." Ashley told him. Kale changed the station to a hillbilly country song," No." He stopped on 'You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine' and Ashley laughed," This is the one."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"No, look."  
Kale came over and looked through the small monitor attached to the camera," It does match." They both laughed and Kale said," Only in Disturbia..."

"Now he can bust his move." Turner and the girl who were dancing, finally kissed and Ashley said," Score."

Ashley grabbed Kale's arm suddenly, and he was alarmed to see that her face had turned fearful.

"What?" He asked her before following her glance into Turner's house. He saw that Turner was creeping up on the redhead, a knife in his hand.

"Oh my God..." Ashley muttered as they ran to the windowsill and kneeled down beside it, all the while unable to tear their eyes away from the video camera.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Kale muttered, more to himself than to her. Forget hiding his fear to seem cool. He was freaking out. Both of them watched in trepidation, waiting to see what he did, when it turned out that he was just going to cut the tag off of her dress.

"Oh my God." Ashley laughed as did Kale," That's a dress she won't be returning." The redhead was blushing, embarrassed, but Turner just took her hand and started dancing with her.

There was a yawn from behind Ashley and they both whipped around to see Ronnie.

"Who's the redhead? She's cute." He said as he looked at the monitor with them," Where's Lene?"

"She's downstairs, why don't you go see her? As in now." Kale instructed. He didn't mean to be so dismissive, but he was about to hook up with a girl he found absolutely amazing.

"Oh, right. A pleasure, Ashley." Ronnie pecked her hand before slapping Kale a high five," Later." And with that, he grabbed another slice of pizza and went downstairs while yelling," My dad likes this song... by the way," as he went.

Ashley and Kale leaned closer, but their mood was interrupted suddenly when Ashley's phone went off. They both had to laugh; her ringtone was Beethoven's Fifth, the cliched doom song.

"My mom..." Ashley pulled out her phone and answered it," Yes, Mom? No, I'm at... Barnes and Noble. Yeah. I'll be home soon." Ashley smiled when she saw that Kale was filming her," Alright. Bye." She looked at him and said," Stakeout's over. Gotta go. Walk me?"

"Of course."

"Well, thank you for an interesting day... and night."

"You're welcome. You should come back over. Lina, uh... Lina really likes you, I can tell. And, uh... I do... too."  
She smiled and knew she was blushing," I guess this is as far as you go." They leaned close about to kiss, but then she moved over the line separating their yards that Kale had set up," I'll get back to you."

He watched her go, and once she was safely in her house, he returned to his, still grinning. In the living room, Lina had fallen asleep with her head on Julie's shoulder, Julie was dozing off as well. The fact that his mom and sister were back on speaking terms made his night even better. He got up to his room and video-taped Turner's house, just to do something to make his mind stop racing. But what he saw made both his mind and heart speed up.

The red head was running through Turner's house, looking panic-stricken and disheveled. She was only wearing her slip, not the black dress that Turner had cut the tag off of. She was banging on the window, screaming to be let out, when suddenly, the lights went off behind her. Turner appeared behind her, and Kale almost yelled out, but he knew she wouldn't be able to hear him even if he did. He accidentally turned the light on his camera on and it reverberated off the glass and blinded him briefly. He ducked down, knowing he had to have signaled Turner, but he wasn't sure. Once he had gained his vision back, he sat up and looked through the camera again. He scanned Turner's house, and then gasped when he saw Turner staring at him, right into the camera. He gasped and dropped his camera just as his phone went off.

"Me So Horny" would generally change the mood of any bad situation but not this time.

"Ronnie..." Kale started.

"Ok, tell me everything." Ronnie started.

"Ronnie... the redhead... the club girl... she was in his house. She was running around. She was freaking out! He came up behind her, I don't know if he killed her. Ronnie, I don't know! What if he killed her!?"

"What? Kale, what?"

He heard a door open and slam shut.

"Stay on the phone with me, please."

"Kale..." Ronnie whispered into the phone, feeling that he had to be quiet even though he wasn't even there," What is it?"

"It's the club girl." He said in utter shock and confusion as he watched the girl get in her car and drive off," She's leaving Turner's house..."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Lina bounced into the kitchen the next morning, smiling gigantically.

"What are you so happy about?"

"A. I am not using drugs anymore..."

"Really?" Kale asked, looking both amazed and grateful; now he didn't have to worry about her twenty four seven.

"Really, really. And B..." She paused, her grin spreading wider," I GOT MY LICENSE THIS MORNING!"

"Oh my God! Congratulations!" He hugged her and she launched into a full story about how she almost ran over a curb, but the guy didn't notice. Of course, in her driver's license picture, she was smiling seductively.

"Lina, your picture makes this look like a Porn Stars of America membership."

"That's for cops. I can do it in person, but if they see it in the picture, they'll totally flip. See if I ever get a ticket!"

Kale opened the refrigerator with his free hand and held his bagel with the other. He spun it on his finger as he pulled out a Mountain Dew; it worked faster than coffee and tasted ten times better. When he closed the door, he was shocked to see Turner standing right there behind it.

"SHIT!" Lina exclaimed, dropping the bagel she was holding onto the floor.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..." Kale grabbed the knife he had been using to cut his bagel and stood protectively in front of Lina. He didn't raise the knife, he just held it nonchalently in front of him, but made sure Turner knew by his alarmed expression that he wouldn't hesitate to kill him if he tried to hurt him or his sister," I'm Robert Turner. I live across from you."

"I know who you are, what are you doing in my house?"

Julie came into the kitchen, carrying bags from the grocery store.

"Kale, Lina, can you get the rest of the bags out of the car, please?"

Kale and Lina both looked at her and Turner began to explain their shocked reactions.

"I think I startled them."  
Julie laughed and picked up the bagel that Lina had dropped. She held it up, showing it to them, but neither of them said anything. They both just turned, walked out of the house, and grabbed the four remaining bags from Turner's car.

"Do you think they're like... fucking?" Lina asked in a hushed whisper as she and Kale hurried back into the house.

"Ew, Lene." Kale replied disgustedly.

"Fine, do you think she's dating him?"

"No. She would have told us. Alright, change subject." Kale instructed as they walked back towards the kitchen.

"You know, riding with Ashley has been fun and all, but now she doesn't have to cart my ass all over this town. I can cart my own ass." Lina started a new conversation very convincingly; it sounded like that was what they had been talking about the entire times they had been outside.

"Well, can you cart your _behind _to the laundromat? The washer and the dryer are both broken... again." Julie told her as she pressed the "Start" button on the coffee maker.

"Sure, I'll do it once I take a shower and get ready." Lina replied as she looked from Turner to her mom and back.

"Thank you, sweetie." Julie kissed her cheek, and then gasped," Oh, Robert, I can't believe I didn't introduce you three. This is Lina, and that's Kale. This is Mr. Turner, he lives across the street from us."

"We know who he is. Since when do you two know each other?" Kale asked, unable to keep the irritation out of his voice as he furiously spread cream cheese over his bagel with the large butcher's knife he had used to cut it.

"Uh, Kale, would it kill ya to use a break knife?" Julie asked.

"A knife's a knife, what's the difference?"

"The difference is sixty dollars at Bed Bath."

Julie looked at Turner, smiling, clearly impressed. Lina rolled her eyes and seriously began craving a cigarette. Turner was one guy who could totally give a girl the creeps. He just had a bad aura around him. Now that she was in his physical presence, she knew that he was without a doubt a killer. No regular person gave off those vibrations. There was something sincerely evil about this man.

"To answer your question, honey, I ran into Robert at the grocery store. I had a flat tire when I came out. We tried to change it, but that adapter thingy it... anyway, it ended up stripping it."

"My fault." Turner admitted, playing it like he felt guilty. Lina and Kale could read right through him, why couldn't Julie?

"No... you saved my life." Julie told him with a smile as she took two coffee mugs down from the cabinet.

"That's impossible, Mom, Dad put those bolts on."

"Well, anyway, we had it towed to Frank's." Julie finished, ignoring what Kale just said.

"I'll be back... Nice meeting you, Mr. Turner." Lina put on her most superficial smile and then walked out of the room with a 'Can-you-believe-this?' glare in Kale's direction.

"Good thing you were there, huh? To tow it to Frank's?" Kale asked as he stared intently at Turner, doing his best to try and intimidate him.

Julie could sense the hostility between them, so she tried to focus on the coffee. That was when she realized she had left the sugar in the car.

"Shoot, I left the sugar in the car. I'll be right back." She left and Turner and Kale kept eye contact for a beat. Kale knew he was a serial killer, and Turner knew he knew. His sadistic brain was already hatching a plan to take care of this kid and his accusations. He'd do whatever he had to do.

"You know, I've always been a little curious about those things. Do you mind..."

"Yeah, I mind. I popped my Spanish teacher."

"Now when you say popped..."

"Yeah, I punched him in the face."

"Look, I get it... I was in school once. There were plenty of teachers I wanted to just... kill." Their eyes met again, and this time Kale was sure, as was Lina who was listening.

"It was just a black eye." Kale informed him. Julie had come in and she gave Kale a 'I can't believe you just said that' glare. He looked back at her, unfazed.

"In that case. Cafe con leche, por favor."

"Oh for God's sake..." Kale heard LIna mutter to herself, but neither Julie nor Turner heard her.

"Sugar?"

"Si." Turner answered and Julie laughed.

"So yeah, I punched him in the face..."

"Why don't we sit down?" Julie suggested as they walked into the other room towards the table that was against the window.

"Nice meeting you, Kale."

Kale shoved half of his bagel into his mouth as he and Lina looked at each other, disgust on their faces.

"Ooh, that's creepy." Ashley said later.

"I know, he's a total freak, right?" Kale asked, as Lina came in," What are they talking about?"

"Stupid adult stuff that I don't care about." Lina opened the Amp she had taken from the refrigerator when she had been dowstairs eavesdropping, and took a long drink.

"Do you think he genuinely meant nice to meet you? Or do you think he was sending you some sort of sinister message?" Ashley asked, smiling mischeviously at Kale.

"Are you playing with me?"

"A little." Ashley admitted, giggling slightly.

Lina tossed a Twinkie at her, not able to sustain the small amount of laughter she felt at Ashley's disbelief. She thought that they were being dramatic.

"Did you even notice my hair?" Ashley asked, and Lina couldn't help but roll her eyes. Who mentioned something that self-centered at a time when there could possibly be a serial killer downstairs. The question was addressed to Kale, who was pacing back and forth, clearly deep in thought.

"Yeah, it's nice." He replied distractedly but sincerely," It's real nice. Ok, so what do we have so far? We have the car, we have the club girl... who looked freaked out. She was running around half naked... Then he shows up in my kitchen, hits on our mother..."

"Can you blame him?" Ashley asked, standing up and moving to sit next to him once he had stopped pacing and taken a seat on his bed," Your mom's hot."

"What is it with everyone saying that?"

"He doesn't want anyone to hit on our mom." Lina told Ashley who nodded, understanding," He's mad overprotective. Kale, let me just throw something in here. Did you ever think that the look that club girl had might have been something else?"

"Yeah." Ashley agreed, leaning closer to Kale," Maybe she likes being chased around half naked."

Lina furrowed her brows, looking thorougly weirded out. She was the most oblivious person in the world, and even she could sense the sexual tension between them.

"Ok, awkward. I'm gonna go take a shower."

"You're coming to my party later, right?"

"Oh, of course." Lina replied," I called Tony, he's getting all the booze."

"You're a lifesaver."

"Earmuff it, Kale." Lina told him and Kale rolled his eyes and covered his ears, knowing she was going to say something about hers and Tony's sex life," I just keep him totally pussy whipped and he does whatever I say. You should try it on Kale."

Ashley gasped slightly, taken aback that Lina actually knew that there was a spark between her and Kale. Lina raised her eyebrows knowingly, and left the room. Ashley didn't know about her feelings for Kale; he was so different from her. He wasn't in the popular crowd, and he wasn't a jock. She didn't know what dating him would do to her reputation.

Ashley quickly shook off the shock she felt, and looked at Kale who had uncovered his ears, and who looked deep in thought once again.

"I have to go." She told him," I have to get ready for my party."

"But you don't know anybody." Kale responded, realizing that that sounded really bad. It sounded like he was insinuating that she had no friends.

"I know, but I ran into this girl today, Minnie Tyco..."

"Oh, yeah. Skinny Psycho. Lina's friend. She's a lot of fun." Kale replied sarcastically.

"Yeah, anyway..." Ashley continued, oblivious to his jab at Minnie," She called somebody, who called somebody, and now... everyone's coming." Ashley smiled, clearly thrilled that all these people were going to be coming to her party, and that she'd be on her way to becoming popular like Minnie and Lina. Kale shook his head; he was so over high school. All girls there cared about was being popular and having all the guys running after them. Well, not all the guys. Just the popular ones, the ones that played football and the ones that only wanted to go out with girls for one reason. He had no chance with Ashley because he wasn't like those guys, and she was clearly into those guys.

"Oh, so you've got the whole jock and bimbo population showing up." Kale knew he was being mean, but he was just so disappointed that he had no shot with her, especially once she started changing and conforming to their standards. They wouldn't even be friends once she fell in with that crowd. He'd be too much of a loser and she wouldn't be seen with him out of fear of being seen as a loser too.

"Is Lina a bimbo? She's coming."

"No, Lina's not a... ok, yes, she is. And that sounds bad, but like you... she went into high school and wanted to conform. I get it. I just didn't peg you as a conformist."

Ashley was clearly offended, so she focused her attention on Kale's hands which were picking up the binoculars.

"Try to keep those in your drawer tonight, will ya?"

And with that, she turned and she left. Kale watched her go, wondering if she should go after her but he was just so annoyed at how all she cared about was seeming cool to the asshole popular crowd at his school.

Lina came running in suddenly, wrapped in a towel. She slammed the door shut, her expression panic stricken.

"What? What?" Kale asked, running to her quickly. He was instantly worried when she didn't say anything. She was still dripping wet, and when she heard the thud of someone going downstairs, she gasped sharply and jumped an inch off of the ground.

"Lina, what happened?" Kale asked, putting his hand on her face. She looked at him, and shook her head.

"There is something..." Her voice was trembling severely, and sounded on the verge of breaking," seriously fucked up with him, Kale."

"Lina, what happened? What happened?" Kale asked, instantly thinking the worst had happened.

"Kale, maybe it's nothing. Maybe it really wasn't anything. Maybe it really was a mistake. But I was..." She trailed off, reliving something that was clearly horrifying her," I was getting out of the shower and... the door opened out of nowhere. And... it was him, Kale. He claimed that... that he was going to use the bathroom and thought..."

"Is he still here?" Kale asked, looking infuriated.

"I don't know." Lina replied, swiping at her eyes quickly," Kale, his eyes were all over the place... And he stood there for awhile... before he started apologizing, and even then he didn't get out right away... Maybe it was a mistake, and maybe he was shocked. I don't know. I don't know. I'm not a pervert specialist... I don't know..."

"Go in your room and get dressed and meet me downstairs. If he's still here, I'm gonna fuck him up. I swear to God."

"Kale! Don't!" Lina grabbed his arm, as he went to go out the door," Don't let him know we're suspicious. He's gonna fucking kill us if he knows we know. Shit, Kale, I don't know what to do. Maybe it was a mistake, maybe he was just shocked when he opened the door and that's why he didn't get out right away." Lina repeated with her face in her hands.

"That's no accident, Lina. It's not an accident when you walk in on somebody and stand there. And you said his eyes were all over the place. That's no accident." Kale told her, knowing he was practically yelling at her, and that was just making her even more upset.

He knew that she was repeating the accident theory as a way of trying to make it right. She was trying to say it enough so she'd believe it. It was easier for Lina to believe that Turner walking in on her was an accident than to believe that he was being perverted. But they both knew that no matter how many times she repeated what she was saying, she would never believe that he had just walked in on her on accident.

"Kale, I'm begging you not to say anything." Lina was now crying, and Kale knew that she was seriously upset by what had happened because she never cried in front of anyone," If you tell Mom, and she confronts him on it, he might hurt her. And if you confront him on it, he might hurt all of us. If he really is a serial killer... if he really is what we think he is... then we need to do this on the down low. We can bust him without him ever knowing we're on to him, Kale. But until we can do that... I'm going to Ashley's party and knocking back shots until I pass out."

Kale walked downstairs when Lina was in her room, and saw that Julie was sitting at the table writing something.

'So are you dating him now?" He asked, unable to keep the note of anger out of his voice.

Julie laughed slightly, and asked," Who, Robert?"

"Yes, Robert."

"Why do you ask?" Julie asked, clearly avoiding the subject at all costs.

"Because I forbid it." Kale told her.

Julie stopped what she was doing and looked at Kale.

"Kale, eventually... I am going to date. And..." She paused, looking for the right words," It's going to be awkward for you... it's going to be awkward for me. I'm scared too..."

"Yeah, you should be."

He couldn't even take standing there with her, so he stormed away, now worried about both his sister and his mother.

"Kale, don't walk away from me when you're angry..." She said, standing up, but he ignored her. He slammed his door and heard Lina going down the stairs. He didn't know what to do. He had so many thoughts that were plaguing him. What if really was the one murdering all those women, and what if Julie and Lina were next on his list?

Lina put five quarters into the washing machine and then sat down on one of the benches that was against the wall. She'd been there since four, and it had remained practically empty for the entire three hours she had been there. It was now seven o clock and the sun was starting to go down. She was supposed to be at Ashley's in an hour to help her set up, but she still had to dry this last load of clothes. Something told her she'd be late.

Her cell phone buzzed and she opened it to see that it was a text message from Kale.

"You ok?" It read.

She hit REPLY and typed out," Yeah, I'm good. I'm gonna be late to Ashley's party. I feel bad."

"Who cares about Ashley's party?" His response read.

Lina rolled her eyes, knowing that he probably felt left out because he was on house arrest and couldn't go, but it's not like there was going to be anyone he really talked to there. He wouldn't have any fun even if he went. She went into her Contacts, and hit SEND when she scrolled down to his entry. He answered on the second ring.

"What's up, dear brother?" She asked," Are you mad because you can't go? Is that it?'

"No, Lina. I wouldn't go to that party even if I wasn't forcefully incarcerated. What is it about that group that you like? What is it about those guys that you and Ashley find so awesome?"

Lina smiled and nodded slightly, knowing exactly what his problem was. He was still ranting rhetorical questions into the phone about the popular crowd and what was so great about them, but Lina was ready to call him on his feelings for Ashley the second he stopped talking.

"Kale, shut up!" She exclaimed, and the two other people in the laundromat looked up from what they were doing. She looked down, and started talking quietly into the phone," Oh my God... I know exactly what you're problem is! You're falling for her! You're falling for Ashley!"

"What?!" Kale exclaimed, as though this was the most ridiculous and untrue thing he had ever heard. When he heard her laughing on the other end, he knew that he wasn't fooling her.

"You are so full of shit. Come on, Kale, if you love the girl, do something about it! You're hot for her, aren't you? Come on, admit it!"

Kale sighed and could feel his face turning red. He had never talked to anyone about any girl he had ever liked because half of them he had no shot with, Ashley included. But there was something special about her, something he was just so attracted to and found so irresistible.

"Yeah, so what if I do like her?" He asked, his words coming out more harshly than he intended to. He sounded like he was snapping at her, but he was just so afraid of not having a chance with her.

"Alright, we've got that out in the open. And I happen to know that she likes you back because you should have seen the look on her face when I called her on it. So now, you two lovebirds need to do is just admit to each other. For God's sake, you two are making me frustrated! Just get some balls, and tell her, Kale! Tell her before she goes with one of the jackassy jock boys that I fuck around with who only want one thing from her. You're real, Kale! They're fake and they'll only go out with her to fuck her! Then they'll leave. But you're the real deal, Kale! You want to go out with her for who she is, not because she'll screw you! And she's gonna know that, Kale, and she's gonna want you back. She already does because she knows that you're different than they are. You're better than they are. Now stop being a pussy and tell her how you feel!"

"Lina, you're like Dr. Phil." Kale told her, actually considering telling Ashley how he felt," Except you're not bald and you're not like, fifty eight."

"More importantly, I lack a penis." Lina replied. She laughed hysterically when the two other people in the laundromat looked up at her, shocked and disgusted looks on their faces," The people in here hate me and my vulgarity, Kale. But they're also really mad because I stole the best washer and the best dryer. Yeah, I'm talking about y'all!" She yelled at them when they both looked at her," Don't hate me cuz I got the best washer and the best dryer."

Kale was cracking up on the other end, and continued laughing even after he and Lina hung up. Lina's smile faded when she saw someone coming through the door. She turned away from the door, her entire body tense and her eyes wide with fear. Turner had just walked through the door of the laundromat.

"Lina, what are you doing here?" He asked as he came over and threw his clothes into the washing machine that was three down from her.

She opened her mouth to say something but couldn't find the words. She took a deep breath and turned back around, all the while willing her voice to sound bold.

"Oh, you remember my mom telling me to go to the laundromat. Our washer and dryer broke again, so here I am. What are you doing here?"

"Would you believe that my washer and dryer broke too?"

"Oh, there must be some sort of washer-dryer breaking caper on our street or something."

Robert laughed, but it sounded forced. He knew that she was catching onto what he was. Maybe walking in on her "accidentally" that day hadn't been such a good idea. But he just had the urge to open the door knowing she'd be in there getting out of the shower, and he figured if he gave the accident excuse, she'd buy it. But Turner knew that she had kept what had happened quiet because she was too scared to tell someone, knowing that he'd go after her and whoever she told. Lina was in the category that he liked to call,' Quiets'. Do whatever you want to them, and they won't say a word for various reasons.

Looking at her now, he realized she really was a beautiful girl. She looked like her mother, and although he had a thing for red heads, neither of them had red hair and he still found them attractive.

"So you and my mom..." Lina said suddenly, trying to get him into a conversation thinking if she got him talking, he'd stop looking at her the way he was," You two are dating, huh?"

"Well, we're just going out as friends right now. But we'll see where it goes."  
"But you want to date her?" Lina asked, narrowing her eyes slightly in accusation.

Turner laughed, feigning that he was uncomfortable with the question.

"Well, she's a very beautiful woman and she's one of the nicest people I've ever met. I don't see how anyone could _not _want to date her. So yeah, I'd be a lucky man if we started dating. But you know, I can see why you'd be worried."

_"Of course I'm worried, you're a fucking serial killer!" _Lina thought, as she stared into his blue eyes, praying he couldn't read her thoughts.

"I'm probably the first guy that's gone out with your mom since your dad died, right?" He asked as she got up and put the wet clothes into the dryer before coming back and sitting down next to him again.

"Yeah. You know, it was a year ago that he died, and I realize that people usually wait a year before starting to date again, but you know... considering that she was so 'in love' with my father, you'd think she'd wait a little longer to date. And considering that she just lost her husband a year ago and could possibly still be vulnerible, you'd think that no one would try to move in on her. No offense." She whispered, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

He looked back into her steely blue eyes, and saw a rage behind them that he had never seen in a person before. That was all the confirmation he needed that she knew what he was.

"You might be right." He said, nodding slightly," But you'd think a young woman as beautiful..." His hand touched hers and she quickly snatched it away, even though she knew that showed how suspicious she was," ...as you, would have better things to do than worry about who their mother was dating."

Lina laughed slightly, pretending like she thought he was kidding, and he laughed too. He knew she was still suspicious. She was warning him with her eyes to keep his distance from her, her mom, and her brother.

His eyes confirmed to her that he knew that she knew, and yet that didn't scare her. The shower incident was stupid on his part, as was his conveniant appearance at the laundromat. It was risky, too risky for a guy who had killed all these women and gotten away with it. He was trying to intimidate her into not believing what she already believed whole-heartedly; that he was a cold blooded murderer. She didn't understand how he had gotten away with all he had done when he was dumb enough to blatantly try to intimidate her the way he was. That showed weakness in him, and that made him less menacing.

The dryer dinged and Lina stood up and opened it. She pulled out the clothes and put them into one of the baskets she had brought from home.

"Well, Mr. Turner, it's been nice talking to you. I'm sure I'll be seeing more of you." She grinned slightly and added," Be careful out there. There's a serial killer lurking around."

She felt his eyes watching her get into her car once she was out the door, and she continued smiling as she drove away. She'd rather go out knowing she had him scared than get killed knowing he knew how much he scared her. Now it was on. Kale and Lina vs. Robert Turner. They were going to take him down without police help. They were going to get enough evidence to have him arrested, and then everything would be fine. But before all of that went down, she had to party.

Kale used his binoculars to spy on the party. He saw Ashley glance up at his window and he laughed out loud half hysterically.

"Oh, you think I'm watching you."

"Hey!" Ashley hugged a guy tight and looked up at him.

"You think I'm buying that?" Kale asked, still laughing slightly," You don't know him. Well, he certainly doesn't know you." The bincoulars traveled down as he took in what Ashley was wearing," God, she's so fucking hot."

He saw that Lina was sitting at a table, knocking back shots with all the guys. She would periodically stop drinking and start making out with one of them, and every time she stopped to do this, it was always a different guy that she chose to make out with.

"My sister... is a ho." Kale said, looking disgusted as he watched her. She stood up and walked over to Ashley, leaving all the guys disappointed. She was able to walk in a straight line which showed that she wasn't that hammered.

Ashley glanced up at the window again as she talked to Lina, and Kale laughed again.

"You really flatter yourself, Ashley. I have better things to do than watch you."

She walked over with Lina and kissed a guy passionately who looked surprised but grateful.

"Oh! That's it!" He stood up and grabbed his speaker, and his iPod. He scrolled down the list to where Minnie Ripperton was. Guys were allowed to like Minnie Ripperton too, as long as they didn't tell anybody.

He turned the volume up as loud as he could and walked back over to his chair. He saw everyone's enraged faces, but none compared to Ashley's. He saw that Lina was laughing, and knew that she was thinking he was doing this to get Ashley's attention, which he was. But he was also doing it to annoy her as much as she was annoying him. The doorbell rang downstairs and he continued laughing as he walked down there. He opened the door, grinning.

"What's the matter, you don't like Minnie Rippert..." He was shut up quickly by water balloons that were being thrown at him by the same kids who were behind the flaming dog shit.

He watched them go, not able to find the right words that were harsh enough for the little assholes.

"I got you now, Greenwood!" He yelled, reading the back of one of the kids' shirts," You better no tbe listed!" He was pulling off his shirt as he continued, more quietly and only to himself," That's a fine tactical error, my friend. HUGE!" He raised his voice and yelled after them. He walked upstairs, and grabbed another shirt from his dresser. That was when he saw Ashley coming through his window out of the corner of his eye.

"What the fuck..." He muttered under his breath, completely shocked. He was pulling on his shirt as he ran into the room where she was. She pulled the iPod off of it's holder and the music stopped. Kale grabbed it and put it back on, and the music continued playing. He stood in front of the iPod so Ashley couldn't take it off again, but that didn't stop her from trying.

"What's the matter, you don't like my music?" He asked sarcastically.

She stopped trying to grab it and her eyes widened slightly.

"Oh my God..." She said, sounding shocked. Kale turned around quickly, and Ashley's hand darted out. She grabbed the iPod and then ran for the balcony. Kale chased her but stopped when he saw that she was dangling his iPod over the balcony.

"Stay there or I'll throw this where you can't follow."

"Ok, just relax. Just chill. That's thirty gigs of my life."

"Even... better." Ashley replied," What are you doing?"  
"What are you doing?" Kale snapped back.

"I'm trying to enjoy my party! Oh, wait that's wrong. According to you, I'm trying to conform."

"Could have fooled me."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You wanna blend in with that crowd, fine, but don't keep looking up at me trying to get a rise out of me. It's unneccesary."

"So you were watching me?" Ashley asked, a small hint of satisfaction in her voice now that she knew for sure that he had been watching," But for how long, Kale? Just tonight? A week? Two weeks, since I moved in? What is it, Kale? What else have you seen?"

"I... I saw you swim." He answered and could have kicked himself. What a dumb response. He sounded like more of a stalker than Turner!

"What else?" Ashley asked, her expression still hard and angry.

"I've seen a lot." He told her," I mean, not like that. I mean... for instance..." He started thinking about all the things he'd seen her do," I've seen that you're one of what, only three people in the world who like pizza flavored chips. You're also the only person I've ever seen who spends more time on the roof of her house than in her actual house. And when you're reading... books, you know... Not Us Weekly or Seventeen... but substantial books." He paused, not realizing that he was ranting but there were just so many things he loved about her that he just had to say out loud," You do this thing where, it's like an OCD thing, but it's not. It's um... whenever you're leaving your room... you grab the doorknob like you're ready to leave but you don't. You turn to the mirror and you just stare at yourself. But it's not like an 'I'm so hot' kind of stare. It's more like,' Who am I, really?' and asking yourself that..." He paused, just so amazed by her," I mean that's just so cool. So you look out the window all the time like I do, only you're looking at the world. Trying to figure it out, trying to understand it. Trying to figure out why it's not in order... like your books. Umm... I'm only looking at you."

She didn't respond for a long time. She just stared at him as he looked at the ground.

"That's either the creepiest..." He looked at her briefly before diverting his humiliated glance. But then he voice softened," Or the sweetest thing... I've ever heard."

She came forward and wrapped her arms around him as they started making out. He was shocked, but definately relieved. They fell onto his bed, and continued kissing.

"Remember before... when I said I didn't have issues..."

"Mm-hmm..."

"It's bullshit..."

"You know for a guy who... killed his teacher..."

"I didn't kill my teacher..." He replied.

There were thumping noises suddenly, loud ones, and Ashley's eyes shot open.

"What is that?" She asked as they both stood up. She was first to the window at the other side of Kale's room, and was the first to see Turner pulling a plastic bag down his back stairs.

"Holy shit!" She exclaimed as Kale came over.

"What do you see?" He asked as he put the binoculars to his eyes," Oh my God..."

"Red smears..." Ashley said distractedly.

"Blood?" Kale asked, looking as close as he could. It definately looked like blood.

Kale and Ashley looked at each other, knowing that it was time to go on the offensive. Turner had killed someone else, and they had to stop him before he hurt anyone else. Kale, Lina, Ashley, and Ronnie knew what Robert Turner was. They knew he was a serial killer, and they were going to be the ones that brought him down. Or so they thought...

Overly dramatic chapter ending, I know, but I've been writing this for like four hours, and I'm starving


	7. Chapter 7

**Love Thy Neighbor**

**Chapter 7**

**A/N: SSS signifies change of scne. Sorry to everyone who has read these and not known when the scene has changed. The stars () don't work on the website. HUGE updates coming to all of my stories. Hoping to get one chapter up for each, possibly two. Thanks for reading!! Love ya guys!!**

**"What do you mean, blood?!" Lina exclaimed the next day when Kale and Ashley told her and Ronnie the events of the night before.**

**"You can't be serious." Ronnie replied, and for once, he wasn't joking around or being sarcastic. He wasn't even smiling nervously, like he sometimes did. "Why would we lie about something this serious?" Ashley asked, sitting up off of Kale's bed," Guys, last night, we saw him pulling a plastic bag down his back stairs. There was blood on it. Look, Lina, you were one hundred percent postive before that there was something up with the guy."**

**"Yeah." Lina replied," But I just thought he was a dirty old pervert who hasn't been laid in like, ten years. I didn't think he was a fucking... John Wayne Gacy wannabe!" Lina paused to run her fingers through a hair, a habit she had when she was in distress," Well, I kind of did, but I figured it was just my imaginotion. Kale, you know how I can be! I believed you were an alien after I saw that M. Night Shymalan movie! I ran around with tin foil on my head for a year and a half whenever you came around. I just chalked up that Turner serial killer theory to be yet another one of my paranoid ideas."**

**"But you believe it..." Kale began, but was cut off by Ronnie who was laughing hysterically.**

**"Wait, you thought he was an **_**alien**_**?!" Ronnie burst out cackling, and Lina scowled at him jokingly. He caught the disgruntled looks of Kale and Ashley and immediately stopped laughing," I'm sorry. Look, let's just say, that Robert Turner really is the guy who is butchering all these red heads. What are we supposed to do about it? Kale, you're on house arrest, so you're not exactly the poster boy for honesty. Lina, I'm sure the police know about your antics here of late, so they're certainly not going to believe you. Ashley, you're new here, so you might be the best bet in convincing the police that we're not a bunch of lunatics and that this might be legit."**

**"Ronnie..." Ashley looked at Kale, and then back at Ronnie and Lina," We're not going to ask the police for help."**

**"Then what are we doing?" Lina asked, drawing a blank on what their plan possibly could be. They couldn't try to bring Turner down themselves! If they were wrong, he'd end up pressing charges on them for watching him and stalking him. If they were right, he'd end up killing them.**

**"Look, we know the police won't believe us. We've established that." Kale began," So, if the police won't believe us, they won't help. They'll call us insane, drug addled..." Kale looked at Lina, not meaning to suggest that she was a drug addict, but that's how she took it.**

**"Hey, I have been clean for two weeks now."**

**"I know, and I'm proud of you." Kale replied," But that's not what I was suggesting. The cops are going to think that we're insane, drug addled teenagers, and for me, they're just going to think that I'm getting cabin fever. We're on our own here, guys. We have to do this ourselves."**

**Ronnie and Lina looked at each other, and Lina ran her fingers through her hair again, but this time not as a way of showing her fear, or doubt, or whatever else she was feeling. She pulled her hair into a bun on the top of her head, knowing she couldn't think with it in her face.**

**"Let's do it." Lina started just as Ronnie began.**

**"It's just too gnarly, dude..." He looked at Lina when he heard her response to Kale, and quickly he changed his own," Alright, I agree, let's rock."**

**SSS**

**"I can't believe I'm doing this!" Ronnie said into the walkie talkie he was carrying. He was headed for Turner's other car, where they had seen him place a garage door opener a few days earlier," Is he coming?"**

**Kale looked at the computer where pictures that Ashley was taking in the hardware store were popping up periodically.**

**"No, you're golden, man. This is cool, Ashley's got like a live feed going..."**

**In the hardware store, Ashley was on the phone with Lina, who was watching Turner from the front of the store. Ashley was following him from behind. He stopped to look at some shovels, and Ashley ducked into another aisle, afraid he'd see her.**

**"Ashley, what's going on?" Lina asked softly as she craned her neck to see what Turner was doing," I don't see you. I can see him, but where are you?"**

**"I went into another aisle. Hold on, I'm going to click over and see what's happening with Kale."**

**Ashley flashed over to Kale, and said his name.**

**"Hey, Ash. Is he still in the store?"**

**"Yeah. He's still here. Lina can see him, but I can't. I had to kind of duck away from him before he saw me."**

**"What's he looking at?"**

**"Well, the shovels were unsettling enough, but now... he's picking up a roll of duct tape."  
"Oh, someone's planning a fun night..." Kale replied, the note of disgust in his voice not easily disguised. What a sick fuck!**

**"Yeah, he is." Ashley agreed," How's Ronnie doing?"**

**"He's panicking."  
"This is a lot harder than it looks on the Internet!" Ashley heard Ronnie exclaim through the walkie talkie.**

**Kale watched as he quickly tried to lockpick Turner's car, afraid that someone was watching him and calling the police because he was breaking into someone's car. **

**"It's getting dark, man. You're going to be fine. No one's watching you, I don't think. It's dinner time. Everyone's eating dinner." Kale assured him, trying to say anything that would calm him down and get him to focus.**

**"Ok, I got it! I got it!" There was relief in Ronnie's voice, and a certain hint of pride. He had broken into someone's car. It made him feel cool.**

**"Good! Sweet! Awesome, man!" Kale's adrenaline was pumping and he laughed slightly for no reason, just wanting to relieve some of the pressure he felt in his chest as his heart pounded so hard it felt like he had just ran across the country and back.**

**"Ok, the code is ten-five..."**

**SSS**

**"Ash? Ash?" Lina was saying into her phone, but Ashley wasn't answering. She told herself that she was still on the line with Kale, but she was panicking. She jumped up and ran through the store, attracting more attention to herself than she should have. **

**"Lina!" She heard Ashley's voice whisper. When she looked, she saw Ashley in the doorway of the ladies' room.**

**"You bitch! You scared the shit out of me!" She whispered furiously as she ran into the bathroom with her. They hugged, both trembling slightly.**

**"You know, I'm starting to wonder if this was the right idea." Lian said, unable to hide the fear in her voice," Ash, I really do think that he's the killer. But I don't want to be on his victim's list."**

**"Neither do I. But Lene, we have to stop him before he hurts anyone else."**

**"I know. I know." Lina responded, nodding. **

**Suddenly the door opened, and they both jumped an inch off of the ground. When they looked, expecting to see just a woman coming in to use the bathroom, they saw Turner.**

**"Hi." He greeted them, smiling.**

**"Um... clearly subtlety isn't your strong point, nor is reading symbols. See, there's a sign on the door with a stick figure with a triangular shaped body. That would indicate that this is the ladies' room!" Lina snapped at him, feeling the urge to scream, cry, run, but more than all of that, to scare him away.**

**Turner laughed that arrogant laugh of his. That mocking chuckle of his...**

**"Subtlety? What does that mean, Angelina?"**

**"It means..." Lina begna, but Ashley nudged her in the stomach, stopping her from yelling their accusations at him. He'd kill them right there, or he'd find a way to get them back to his house. **

**"She doesn't know what she's talking about, Mr. Turner. She's just a drug-addled, insane teenager." Ashley forced a laugh, and Turner snickered along with her.**

**"Oh. That's a shame. You know... you two are very beautiful girls. So, following around an older man... don't you think it's a waste of time?" **

**Ashley wan standing in front of Lina, not just to protect her but because Lina was practically spitting fire, and she didn't want her to jump on Turner and kill him. Turner reached out and ran his hand down Ashley's cheek, and Lina reacted the same way Ashley feared. She pushed his hand away, and went to lunge forward, but Ashley grabbed her and held her back.**

**"Don't fucking touch her!" Lina snapped as she glared into Turner's emotionless grey eyes.**

**"Just a friendly gesture, Lina. Nothing perverted." He said, his voice dripping with sarcasm now," Just relax. I just wanted to tell you two face to face... that I enjoy my privacy. I'm actually really shy."**

**"Ok." Ashley replied, squuezing Lina's hand as a way to tell her without words not to say anything.**

**"So if this is ome way of getting the attention of a somewhat older man..." This time, he touched Lina's hair, but only to move it away from her face. She went to lunge forward again, but Ashley was stronger than she looked.**

**"Just remember... the world is in a heightened state of paranoid. You girls really shouldn't... stoke the fire. So..." He opened the door, and as he went out he stopped and turned to look at them," ...feel free the pass that along if you'd like."**

**He left. Ashley and Lina sighed in relief, and though they were both terrified by the encounter with Turner, it was Lina who was on the verge of tears. She hated this game he was playing with them. She almost regretted getting involved at all. Turner definately knew that they believed him to be the serial killer, and now, he was going to go out of his way to make sure they didn't tell anyone. **

**Ashley and Lina walked arm-in-arm to Ashley's SUV in the parking garage. They drove home in silence, not knowing exactly what to say.**

**"Holy shit!" Ashly exclaimed suddenly as she took out her phone. She dialed Kale quickly," Kale, tell Ronnie to get in there! Turner's on his way!"**


End file.
